New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends
by Phoenix Sparrow
Summary: The first fanfic I ever wrote, around 2000. Told from TinTin's POV about how she came to live on Tracy Island, her introduction to IR and includes the missions from 'Trapped in the Sky', 'Move And You're Dead' and 'Sun Probe'. .:.Updated 14.03.07.:.
1. News

_New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends_

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

_Set from the point of view of Tin-Tin Kyrano_

* * *

Chapter 1: NEWS

My name is Tin-Tin Kyrano.

It was late February 2064, a few months before my twenty-first birthday, when my father came home and told me something I will never forget. Something that would change my life in ways I would not know about for quite some time to come.

"I got a call from Jeff Tracy today."

"How are his boys?" I asked, but father knew what was really on my mind.

"They are all fine. Alan was not there but Mr. Tracy knew he would want to say hello to you." Just that one comment made me feel really good, but what he told me next completely shocked me. "He asked me to go and live with him on Tracy Island."

I nearly fell out of my chair. I sat there for a while, stunned into silence and looking for a response. Was he leaving me or was I going, too? I knew what I wanted to say, but my mouth refused to co-operate. From his response, I suppose he must have known what I was thinking. "You had better go and start packing or we will miss our flight."

I smiled widely and got up to hug him, then left to go to my room.

When I got there what father had said sunk in properly. Father and I were going to live on Tracy Island. With Mr Tracy. With his sons. With Alan!

I couldn't pack my bag quick enough. It had been almost a year since I had seen Alan without the aid of a videophone.

* * *

Some time later, I stood at the airport looking at the timetable on the wall flicker as people were updated on the arrival and departure times of their flights.

I realised I was shivering, but I didn't know why. It wasn't cold at the airport. Actually, it was quite warm, for February. I decided it must have just been nerves at the prospect of living on the island.

I got onto the aircraft and sat down. This was months before Fireflash took to the skies, so it was a slow journey. Anticipating that, I'd brought something to do on the long trip. I knew I could always talk to father, but never on a plane. He usually slept through plane journeys.

We arrived at the other airport and waited. I'm afraid I can't really tell you where because we use it a lot to be picked up from by one of the Tracy boys in their private plane. Security. Not my idea, but a good one.

* * *

About half an hour of waiting later, I heard it and my heart skipped a beat. I knew that sound very well. It was their plane.

It was, most likely, being piloted by Scott, the eldest of the Tracy brothers. Being in the US Air Force, he was probably the most experienced pilot out of all five brothers. He's four years older than me and his birthday wasn't until April, so he was about 24.

As the plane landed, I got excited. I knew that Scott wouldn't be alone, because whenever any of them flew out to see us, Alan was usually with them.

* * *

I was right. As soon as the plane had finished its landing procedures, the hatch swung open and Alan, the youngest of the five brothers, jumped out. He is a year younger than me and was about 19 because he hadn't yet reached his birthday.

I ran over to him and he picked me up and spun me round. Then Scott jumped out of the plane.

As I've said, he was already a fully qualified pilot, but I'd been training at university, as well as the help I'd been getting from Scott, using their plane.

In order to conserve time and space in the small plane, we'd only picked up the things we thought we'd desperately need, intending to go back at some point to get anything else we wanted. The plane, although small, could hold us all comfortably.

* * *

Scott had asked father and I to sit in the plane while he and Alan loaded luggage into a small cargo hold. Unfortunately, either it was too small or we had too much, but either way we still had to have some luggage in the cabin with us.

As soon as they were done, they jumped back in. Alan climbed into the rear to sit with me, and Scott took up the pilot's seat next to father. He immediately started the engines and we took off for Tracy Island.

I glanced about as the journey continued. I could see Scott up front talking to father about Mr. Tracy, Virgil and John.

I noticed that every time father asked about Gordon, Scott turned away or changed the subject, while beside me Alan fidgeted uncomfortably.

"How have you been, Tin-Tin?" Alan suddenly asked. I turned to face him. "It's been, what, nearly 2 years, hasn't it?"

"One," I corrected, smiling, "I'm fine. It's good to see you again. I've missed you."

I glanced at Scott. Alan knew what I was thinking. Scott would be listening. We usually kept our major, personal conversations for when we were alone. When I first met Alan, Mr. Tracy invited me to the island for a couple of weeks during the summer holidays. I was about 18 at the time, Alan about 17, and he was very into motor racing, so whenever someone came in while we were talking, that was one of the directions we diverted our conversations to.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that father had fallen asleep, which wasn't a surprise. I rested my head on the headrest. I was tired and close to falling asleep. I rolled my head to look out the window and in all directions all I could see was clear blue sea. There were no clouds and the sky was starting to turn orange with the dusk.

I realised then, I'd missed seeing this every night from my room on Tracy Island.

I looked over at Alan. He'd fallen asleep. I moved a couple of bags and lay my head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

It was very early morning when we finally landed.

I offered to help take my luggage up to the villa, but Scott and Alan insisted that I leave it to them.

I had gotten a couple of hours sleep on the plane but they were disturbed due to the cramped condition of the cabin.

I got out of the plane and was helped to the floor by Alan. He put his hands on my waist and gently lowered me down. We stood there for a moment, his hands still on my waist and mine on his shoulders as I looked into his blue eyes.

"I'd, uh, better finish unpacking," he said.

He started to release me, but where I'd been sat cramped up, my knees gave out and I was suddenly kneeling on the runway.

He helped me back up. "Maybe I should carry you up, not the luggage," he said smiling.

As soon as he was sure I had regained my balance, he continued pulling bags from the plane.

I looked around at the vista, noting it had changed slightly from my last visit. There were palm trees lining the cliff end of the runway and there was a large building in the cliff face ahead of me, but I thought nothing of it, concluding it must have just been typical renovations and home improvements.

I waited for father and the others, and then we headed up the long flight of steps to the villa. I'd forgotten just how many stairs there were, or were there more?

I got into the lounge to see all the others, and someone I didn't recognise. It was about half three in the morning, yet they were up with huge smiles across their faces. Though something didn't seem quite right.

"So glad you could make it, Kyrano, and so soon," Jeff Tracy said in a cheerful voice, "Nice to see you again, Tin-Tin."

I jumped at the mention of my name, being still very tired. "Hello, Mr. Tracy. It's good to see you."

He smiled and stepped back to introduce a shy looking man with brown hair and blue-rimmed glasses. "This is Brains. He's a close friend, but he's a bit nervous."

Brains stepped forward and shook father's hand. "I-I-It's a pleasure t-to meet you, Mr. Kyrano."

Father bowed his head slightly the way he does when being introduced to someone new.

"Nice to meet you, ah, Miss Kyrano," he said, offering a slightly shaking hand.

I did my best to seem friendly rather than ratty due to fatigue. "It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Brains."

"O-O-Oh, it's just Brains."

"Then you must call me just Tin-Tin," I responded with a smile, which he returned.

He is about the same age as John, and his birthday, I later found out, is in November, so he must have been about 23.

I looked around the room and saw Scott slouching on a chair below the row of pictures of the five boys. His eyes were shut and his arms draped across the back of his seat. Virgil was talking to him, but I could see that Scott wasn't paying attention.

Alan was stood in the corner, leaning on the piano just inside the balcony, talking to Brains. John, father and Mr. Tracy were talking by the desk in the corner, opposite the pictures.

I looked around again, realizing something was missing, someone. Gordon wasn't there.

* * *

Gordon is about the same age as me, though his birthday was at the beginning of the month, so he was already 21.

He and I are good friends because we have a shared interest of water sports. Last time I visited, we spent a lot of time water-skiing, diving and swimming together, which made Alan a little jealous. He wasn't so much after he came diving with us. I don't know what changed his mind, possibly that he saw that we were just friends having fun in a common hobby.

Unfortunately, he still wasn't best of company afterwards, because he managed to lose us in the underwater caves and didn't get back up to the villa until two hours after us.

I was a little worried at not seeing Gordon. I'd thought he would have been there to greet me. I looked around again and saw that Virgil had given up talking to Scott and had wandered off to talk to Brains and Alan, leaving Scott sat in the chair, pretending not to sleep.

I sat down quietly in the seat next to him. He must have noticed me arrive, as he opened his eyes and let his head roll to one side to look at me. He had a slight grin on his face, like he was trying hard to keep a secret. "What's wrong? Homesick?" He asked me in his teasing way, trying to make me feel better.

I shook my head and looked back round the lounge. "No, there's nothing wrong with me. There's something wrong with this picture. There's someone missing."

His smile faded. He walked to the balcony and leaned on the railing. I followed him. From his reaction, I knew for sure something was wrong.

"What's wrong with Gordon?" I asked his back when I caught up with him. He didn't move. I walked closer. He had his head hung low and his elbows resting on the railing, his hands clasped together in front of him. I put a hand on his and he looked over at me. His cheeks were slightly damp, as though…

"Scott? Oh, Scott, have you been… crying?" I asked compassionately.

He touched his cheek with his hand and brought it down. He looked at the glistening wetness of his fingertips before wiping his face. I knew then it was serious. Scott never, ever cries. He glanced about, then answered me. "He's, uh, in his room asleep."

"Is that all? Why did you seem so…?"

"It's more than that," he interrupted, shaking his head. "He was involved in a speedboat crash a couple of months back. He only came out of the coma a couple of weeks ago." His voice seemed to crack, but after taking a deep breath, he continued. "The doctors said he'd be fine to come home, but he spends a lot of time sleeping.

"We know he's alright, but it was a shock. He should be up and about soon, but you know Gordon, he's lazy unless it involves water. He'll be lying in that bed for a while yet." He smiled weakly, but I could see how upset he was by the tear rolling down his cheek. I'd been trying not to cry, but as soon as I saw the tear, all my welled up emotion was suddenly released and I leaned against Scott and cried.

I rested my head on him and put my hands on his chest, but he didn't seem to mind. He rested his head on mine and gently stroked my hair.

Gordon is a very close friend so to hear that he'd been involved in such an accident overwhelmed me.

When I lifted my head again, he looked down at me, then through the balcony doors. I could see what he was looking at. Alan was stood there. I knew he'd be jealous that Scott was holding me, but he'd be so until he knew why. They may like to play jokes on each other, but they care for one another deeply.


	2. The Accident

_New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends_

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

_Set from the point of view of Tin-Tin Kyrano_

* * *

Chapter 2: THE ACCIDENT

It was about twenty past two when I finally woke up.

I was still tired but I felt a lot better. Until I remembered what Scott had told me.

I sat on the edge of my bed, thinking. Before I went to bed, I'd explained to Alan why I was close to Scott. He'd understood immediately, then hugged me.

I looked at my bedside table. That was where I'd put my photo frame, which I'd picked up in our hurried departure. It was the sort that could hold more than one picture. This one held eight. Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, Mr. Tracy, father and two of Alan. One was a professional picture and in the other, he was in the pool. I would like to have had a picture of my mother in there, too. I don't know what happened to her and I don't have any pictures.

I picked up the photo frame and looked at the pictures closely, studying each one for a brief moment until my eyes came to rest on the one of Gordon. I sighed as I put the frame down, then crossed the room to where I'd dumped my bags.

Due to our late arrival, I'd only unpacked my nightdress, but after rummaging for about five minutes, I found my dressing gown. I put it on and headed down to the kitchen.

From behind the closed door, I could hear voices. I stood outside and listened for a while.

"They are going to be so surprised when they find out."

"Calm down, Virgil. We don't tell them anything yet. At least, not until Gordon's up and about again." Mr. Tracy's voice seemed to waver as he finished his sentence.

I pressed a button and as the door hissed open, all eyes in the kitchen were on me.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Or is it good afternoon yet?" John announced from the other side of the kitchen. "We were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to get up. Thought we'd have to send in the search parties!"

"John, don't tease her, she's had a long journey," Scott said. "One was cramped, she had bad company and a cabin full of luggage, the other was with Alan and me!" He and Alan started laughing like it was the funniest thing anyone had ever said, while the rest of us sane people looked at them with straightjackets in mind.

"Nice to see you, too, Scott." I said.

* * *

After lunch, the boys went for a swim while I sat up in the lounge, on the balcony, watching them duck and race each other. I looked behind me to where Mr. Tracy was tidying his desk as he spoke to me.

"Tin-Tin? Do you think you could shout down to them to keep the noise down, please? Gordon's still asleep." I knew Mr. Tracy was joking, but I could see it was hard for him to say.

"Is Gordon all right, Mr. Tracy? Scott told me last night what happened."

He sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. "He's all right. He just needs a lot of rest at the minute," he glanced at the picture of Gordon on the wall. "I'll tell you what. I'll go see if he's awake. If he is, you can go see him. I know how much you two like to talk about water and all, might help him feel better." The possibility of seeing Gordon made me feel happier. I watched as Mr. Tracy started to head towards the door, then double back. He went over to his desk and pressed a button, which set off a buzzer outside, by the pool. He spoke into a microphone at his desk and his words were reproduced through a speaker in the trellis of the patio.

"Can't you lot behave for five minutes? Keep the noise down please, boys," he said in a humorous tone. He smiled, then left.

I looked down as they started whispering and trying to swim quietly. It was very comical to watch, but it didn't last more than a few seconds.

When Mr. Tracy returned, I knew there was good news, it was written all over his face. "He's up, alright. He got up and answered the door! You go ahead and see him. I'm gonna go and tell the others. I just hope they don't get me too wet this time. Last time I went to talk to them with that many of them in the pool at once, I got soaked!"

I don't think I'd ever seen him so happy. I headed off toward Gordon's room, while Mr. Tracy left the villa and started down the steps to the patio.

I remembered where Gordon's room was from my last visit, as I'd spent about four hours in there, looking through his research books with him.

Being an oceanographer and an aquanaut meant that most of Gordon's research material was marine based. I loved looking through it to find dolphin pictures.

I reached his room and knocked the door. "Hang on a minute," I heard him call weakly, "I'm coming."

"Oh, you don't have to," I called through the door.

It opened and stood behind it was Gordon on crutches and with a bandage on his head, but with a huge grin across his face.

"Tin-Tin! I'm so happy to see you!" he cried, leaning forward to hug me.

"I'm happy to see you, too," I said, "but I'm going to need full use of my lungs."

"Oh, sorry," he said, releasing me, and gesturing me in. "I've had a hell of a time these last few months."

We went into his room and he eased himself down onto his bed and rested his crutches against the wall beside him. I sat down on the bedside chair, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Five months ago, I was out in my speedboat. I was just sailing round, killing time. I guess I didn't turn in time because I hit the other craft at 400 knots. My vessel was completely smashed and I've been in a hospital bed recovering for four months. According to Scott, I was in a coma for most of that time. I got home a month ago, but the course of drugs I was on meant I still spent a lot of time sleeping. I've only just finished them. Dad would come in every morning and every evening bang on 9 o' clock to give me them. As soon as he had, he'd leave and I'd fall asleep again. There were a couple of times when he'd stay in my room when I fell asleep again. On those occasions, he was still sat in the chair asleep if I ever woke. He doesn't come in very often any more, not since the medication ran out."

We talked for a while longer about his time with the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, which he referred to as WASP, and the year he spent underwater investigating marine farming methods.

He also mentioned something about a thunder bird, but I'd never heard of one of those. I assumed it was some sort of bird that lived on the island. When I asked him about it, he looked a bit sheepish. "Dad hasn't told you yet? Oops. You'd better ask him."

* * *

About an hour later, Gordon surprised me completely.

"Do you want to go down to the pool? I expect the others are still there."

I did want to, but I didn't want to just leave him. "What about you?"

"I was thinking that when we get to the stairs, you take my crutches and I lean on your shoulder. One of my legs is still good, so it won't be too bad."

My mouth dropped open with surprise as I looked for the words I wanted. "Oh, you want to come with me. Are you up for that?"

"Yes, of course I am. Don't look so shocked. I've been practising on my crutches in here since I came off my medication last week, but the others rarely come in to see me. They think I still sleep twenty-four-seven."

"Well, okay, if you think you can," I said. I still wasn't sure, but we left anyway.

* * *

It took a while, but we made it down to the patio. The others were still floundering about like they lived in that pool, but they all stopped splashing about and jumped out one by one as they saw us coming and offered us assistance.

"Gordon!" John yelled.

"Are you all right?" Scott asked

"How are you feeling?" Alan shouted.

"It's nice to see you're looking better," Virgil said.

They spoke with genuine affection for their brother and all looked very happy to see him.

"Look, will you fellers stop fussing over me?" Gordon shouted above their comments and they eventually settled down.

He sat down on the edge of the pool and lay his crutches down beside him, then gently lowered his legs over the edge, letting his feet dangle in the cool water.

It was a strange sight. While one leg swung backwards and forwards, stirring up the water, the other hung nearly lifelessly.

Virgil went and sat next to him and started to talk and I suddenly realised I still hadn't gotten changed and it was nearly quarter to six in the evening.

I turned toward the villa, meaning to go and get changed, when I heard someone call my name. I spun round as John swam to the edge of the pool and called my name again. "Yes, John. What can I do for you?"

"Why don't you join us?"

How could I refuse? I've always loved swimming. "Do I have a choice?" I called.

"No, not really!" he answered, laughing.

I had to hide a grin as he waited for my response. He hadn't noticed what I had. Scott quietly swam up behind him and after taking a breath; he submerged. The next thing I knew, Scott had hold of John's ankles and was pulling him under.

The latter surfaced, spluttering, but Scott was already sat on the other edge of the pool, enjoying a cool drink.

I laughed, then headed up the long flight of steps, colliding with Mr. Tracy just inside the lounge. He groaned and stepped back a little. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tracy," I said, smiling.

"Oh, don't worry, just watch where you're going," he replied, smiling back as he rubbed his chest. "How's Gordon?"

"You can ask him personally if you want. He's down by the pool with the others."

A look of shock crossed his face, then happiness. He looked down at the pool to see Gordon still cheerfully talking to Virgil. We also saw Alan swim underwater towards him, but when he surfaced, Gordon kicked water over him with his good leg. He looked up, saw us looking and waved.

I waved back, smiled at Mr. Tracy, then headed off to my room to get changed.

* * *

About a week later, at about half one in the morning, I was woken by a loud noise. Usually, I can sleep through anything, once I'm asleep, but this was so loud, so close. It sounded like a rocket was taking off from somewhere on the island. I didn't know what it was, but it scared me, yet ten minutes later, the noise was gone as quickly as it had started. 


	3. Revelations

_New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends_

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

_Set from the point of view of Tin-Tin Kyrano_

* * *

Chapter 3: REVEALATIONS

The next day, I went to the kitchen for breakfast, after getting dressed. I sat down and Scott wandered over with a massive grin on his face. "I hope you're properly awake. Dad's got something to tell Kyrano and you. It may be hard to take."

He wandered off leaving me with a confused look on my face. I glanced after him and saw him laughing with Virgil. '_They must think I'm an easy joke_, I thought,_ but then, it's not like Scott to play jokes on me. He's teased me, but he's never played jokes on me before.' _Then I realised something. '_Virgil! He could have put him up to it.'_

My train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of my father, who came up behind my chair. He kissed the top of my head and wished me a good morning. I got up to get some breakfast, but father shooed me away and told me he'd get it.

Mr Tracy then walked in and I suddenly felt nervous. Was Scott telling the truth or having a laugh at my expense?

He tried to get some breakfast as well, but my father intercepted him.

"Look, I know I invited you to come and help out here," he said, amused, "but you don't have to cook us breakfast. I was only going to have toast, not a fry-up!"

"It is my pleasure to serve you in this way, Mr Tracy," father answered.

With a smile on his face, Mr Tracy shrugged. Like me, he knew better than to argue with my father about culinary matters. That was his area.

We all sat at the table while father started cooking breakfast. Looking round, I noticed two empty seats. At first, I thought it must be Gordon and someone helping him, but then I saw him sat at the other end of the table merrily talking to Scott.

I looked about again. Alan and John were missing. I was about to ask where they were, but father appeared and started dishing out sausages, fried bread, beans and mushrooms.

* * *

After breakfast, Mr Tracy caught our attention by clearing his throat. Everyone fell silent and looked at him as he rose to his feet. "Kyrano. Tin-Tin. We're glad you could make it. But we didn't call you over just for the reason we gave you. I guess you're wondering where John and Alan are. I'll answer any questions you may have if you would care to join me in the lounge." And with that, he headed off in the mentioned direction.

Scott and Virgil waited behind to help Gordon and I was going to as well, but they gestured for father and me to follow Mr Tracy. I glanced over my shoulder to see Gordon get up slowly.

He was walking without the crutches now, and instead of a bandage covering most of his head, he had a plaster above his left eye. He still had to have someone by his side, though, as he wasn't yet very stable.

I turned back round after looking for a brief moment to face forward. Looking at father, I saw my confusion mirrored in his face. He didn't understand what was happening either.

When we arrived, I noticed something was different. The five pictures that lined one of the walls had changed. Instead of the pictures I was familiar with of the boys in normal clothes and casual poses, there were pictures of them in some sort of blue uniform, stood to attention.

I walked across the room and looked at them, walking up and down to see all five pictures clearly and with no light reflections off the glass.

Each of them had a different coloured sash and belt. John's was lilac, Scott's pale blue, Virgil's yellow, Alan's very pale pink, almost white and Gordon's orange. Near the top of each sash was a small logo. It depicted the initials "IR" in red on a white hand going over the world.

I turned to see if anything else was different in any way, then saw that Scott, Virgil and Gordon still hadn't arrived.

"What do you think of their uniforms? My mother designed them, but she can't be here yet. We'll be collecting her from Parola Sands later in the year," Mr Tracy stated.

I looked at him dazed. "Why do they need uniforms? Where have they all gone?" I asked.

Mr Tracy smiled. "They're about. They've just gone to get changed. Now then. What time is it?" he glanced at his watch. "Good. He should be back soon."

I heard a faint rumbling sound, which, as I listened, grew louder and closer. I started to feel very nervous. "What's that noise?" I asked. I recognised it. It was that noise that had frightened me that night. '_I thought I was dreaming.'_ "What is it?" I asked again, as Mr Tracy walked towards me.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to be afraid of," he assured me, taking my hands in his.

I calmed down a little hearing the kindness in his voice and the warm touch of his hands.

When the loud noise stopped, he turned to us and said, "Shut your eyes." I closed my eyes and instantly began to hear movement.

I heard booted feet hitting the hard, polished floor, a mechanical sound I didn't recognise and laughing that I knew was the boys trying to keep quiet and failing miserably.

"What's that, that whirring sound?" I asked my eyes still tightly shut.

"All will be explained in a minute," Mr Tracy answered. "Open your eyes."

I opened them and saw Scott, Virgil, Alan and Gordon lined up wearing the uniform they had on in the pictures.

I was stunned at how smart they looked with their hands beside them and feet together.

"They've been practicing this," I whispered to father, who smiled and looked around again.

I looked them over from head to foot. They each had a blue cap with a coloured trimming around the top matching their sash. There was also a black oval on one side of it with the initials "IR" in white.

They all had blue sweaters over which they had their various coloured sashes. Their sashes were attached to a belt of the same colour with a gun holstered at their right hip and two small canisters at their left.

They all had blue trousers, which matched their tops and blue boots of a similar colour, which came up to just below their knees. Their boots had a strip around the top, which matched their sashes.

I couldn't believe how smart they looked.

As I was looking at them, I caught Alan's eyes. He smiled at me, then snapped back to attention as his father turned round. I laughed at him and he smiled again, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

* * *

"This is International Rescue's base of operations or headquarters, call it what you like." He turned to father. "Do you remember any discussions we had about what I planned to do in the future?"

"Yes, you said you wanted to do your part for the world. May I assume that this is it?" Mr Tracy nodded. "I congratulate you, Mr Tracy. What I have seen so far is very impressive. I knew you would succeed."

"You haven't seen anything yet," he said, smiling, then saw the confused look on my face as I glanced from him to father. "I'm guessing you didn't tell her."

"No, Mr Tracy. You swore me to secrecy and a secret it would stay. Tin-Tin, I am sure, will understand." I looked back at my father even more confused than before.

"Thank you. I knew I could trust you," he turned to look at me. "Don't take it personally, Tin-Tin. I had to know if I could trust your father and he has proven himself by not telling you. The question is can I trust you?"

"Of course, you can, Mr Tracy," I replied quickly, slightly annoyed at the fact that he was testing my loyalty after he knew I could be trusted.

He suddenly laughed. "OK. I'll let you in on my secret. About a year and a half ago, I read an article about the air crash in which about eighty people died. Do you remember it?"

I thought for a moment. "Yes, vaguely. There could have been fewer deaths if they'd had sufficient rescue equipment."

"Exactly. That was why I decided to form this organisation."

"I don't understand how five men in smart uniforms can accomplish anything like that," I paused. I'd been looking at the row of pictures as I said this, but then after looking at the row the boys had formed, I realised someone was still missing. "Where is John, anyway?" Mr Tracy smiled again and pointed at the ceiling. I looked up despite knowing that the villa was a bungalow and he wasn't likely to be on the roof. "Up where?" I asked, bringing my eyes away from the ceiling to meet his.

"Up in space. In geostationary orbit around Earth in a satellite that we call Thunderbird 5."

That word. Gordon had mentioned it but I still didn't understand. "Thunder-what?"

"Thunderbird 5. One of our five main craft. It is a special satellite which can detect calls of distress in any language."

'_A machine. So it's not an actual bird. A thunderbird is a machine.' _I was still stunned. "So, John's in space?" Mr Tracy nodded. "But, how did he get there?"

He smiled and gestured for Alan to step forward. "By means of Thunderbird 3, our spacecraft, piloted by Alan, and whenever he's needed, Scott will co-pilot, for example when we need to bring John back."

"What?" I felt very confused by this sudden burst of information.

"Well, we can't leave John up there forever, he'd go mad. He and Alan have, um, "volunteered" to take turns on Thunderbird 5," he said, glancing at Alan, who promptly looked at the floor. I guessed he and John pulled the short straws. "At the end of each month, Thunderbird 3 will be launched by Scott and he'll take John or Alan, whoever's here, up to the satellite to relieve the other."

It was a lot to take in and I was becoming more and more confused. "So, you've got a space ship and a satellite. How are they going to save lives?"

He smiled again and gestured to the others. "That's where Scott, Virgil and Gordon come in." He nodded at Scott who walked over to a panel in the wall.

He turned to face us and raised his hands to take hold of lighting fixtures on either side of his head. He cast a brief glance at the portrait of John, which was just above his head, then looked around at us.

Mr Tracy walked over to his desk and pressed a button. There was a mechanical noise and almost immediately Scott disappeared. The panel had spun round, revealing an identical reverse.

"OK. I want you to do the same, Tin-Tin."

I looked at Mr Tracy, feeling slightly reluctant, but upon receiving a reassuring smile from him, I stepped up to the panel and raised my arms. The fixtures I was supposed to have been holding were slightly out of my reach, meaning I had to tiptoe slightly. I guessed it was designed for Scott to use as he has longer arms and is taller.

Mr Tracy pressed the button once more and I spun round without moving. When I finally stopped moving – which although only lasted for a moment, felt much longer – I looked around and was amazed at what I saw.

"This is Thunderbird 1," Scott announced proudly from where he was stood beside me, indicating the large grey machine directly in front of me. I looked down, attempting to see where it started.

"It is 115 feet long and has a wingspan of 80 feet."

"Wings? What wings?" I scanned the spearhead shaped craft from top to bottom and could see no wings.

Scott pointed at two arm-like features on either side. "Obviously they aren't at their full length." I looked back at him. "They will be extended as I reach my destination, unless my destination's here. I come in vertically and if the wings are extended, I won't be able to get back in."

I nodded and looked back at it as Scott continued. "Its purpose is to reach the danger zone in the quickest possible time, so it..."

"I'm sorry, what's a danger zone?" I asked, completely astounded at what I saw, but very confused at what I heard.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. Danger zone is our term for the area we have been called to where our assistance and equipment are required."

"Oh."

"Anyway," he continued, smiling, "it has to reach the danger zone in the quickest possible time, so it can travel at speeds of up to 15,000 miles per hour."

"15,000?" My eyes went wide, betraying just how stunned I was at how fast the silver craft could go. I looked at it again, taking in all its detail. It had a red nose cone, a blue strip round the bottom, near the engines, but most of it was a silvery-grey colour.

Down the front, it had **THUNDERBIRD 1** written in bold letters and on the side and engines, it had **TB1**.

"It's fantastic," I whispered, barely able to speak, "but how does it get out of here?"

Scott pointed to the floor and I glanced down. It was just a normal floor I was stood on. "Where?"

"Under this platform."

Feeling a bit strange, I knelt down and looked under the platform where I saw a dark tunnel. "I suppose that means you go down there."

He nodded and his face cracked into a smile. "Thunderbird is on a trolley and once I'm ready, I send the craft on its trolley down the metal track that runs down the middle of that tunnel. It's launched from under the pool, which slides back as Thunderbird is descending the ramp."

"Wow, you mean the entire pool moves? Water and all?"

He nodded again. "You haven't seen anything yet. Dad's got loads of tricks up his sleeve to reveal." He took my arm and led me out of the hangar.

Back in the lounge, all eyes were on me. "What did you think of the first stop?" Mr Tracy got up from his seat at his desk.

"It's... astonishing. I can't think of any words to describe it. They wouldn't do it justice."

"If you liked that you'll love this next lot," he said, then turned to father. "Kyrano, I'll show you Thunderbird 1 myself later, if that's alright? But where you knew more about this than Tin-Tin, it seems only fair to show her the rest now." Father nodded in reply, then Mr Tracy smiled at me, then left the lounge. I followed them, unaware that in just a few moments, I would be shown the most advanced technology in the world.

* * *

Mr Tracy led us to a small car on a single track. It was like a monorail train; only the car was on top of the track, not hanging underneath it.

We got in and sat down next to the windows. I was still in shock over what I had seen. I didn't think anything could beat it. Mr Tracy took the controls and the boys stood around us, trying not to block our view. I sat up the front near Alan and next to Mr Tracy and looked out the windows as the engines were started. I saw a dark tunnel ahead of us. No lights had been mounted on its walls and the car had no headlights. We passed through it and I took Alan's hand in the darkness.

At the other end of the tunnel, the car was stopped and the door was opened. I looked out to see we were on the floor of a large hangar with a number of large green things lining the wall next us.

"These are the pods that will eventually house auxiliary rescue equipment waiting to be transported to the danger zone," Mr Tracy announced. "There are six in total, and each is numbered to aid the pilot of Thunderbird 2 when he has to choose which he needs."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Virgil trying hard not to smile. '_He must be the pilot of this Thunderbird 2,'_ I thought.

"It's time to see the smallest of our main vehicles."

* * *

"We have equipment for rescues on four planes: air, sea, land and space," Mr Tracy continued, leading us out of the car. Thunderbird 1 is an air vessel, its main job being to get to the danger zone quickly so Scott can assess the situation. Thunderbird 3 is used in space for rescues and to transfer personnel. Thunderbird 2 is another air vessel, which can be used for air rescues due to the astrodome, but its main purpose is to transport the heavy rescue gear, and Thunderbird 4, to and from danger zones." He turned to face Gordon who nodded. He limped forward carefully and led the way.

He moved slowly, talking as he went. "Thunderbird 4 is only a scout craft and it's only 30 feet long, but it's one of the fastest craft on or under the sea. It rivals even the capabilities of the craft operated by WASP. Trust me, I know."

When we reached Pod 4 and stopped. Gordon started to seem unsure of what to do next. He glanced at his father and sent him a questioning look. Mr Tracy nodded and started saying something to his... watch?

I looked at him, confused, but then, after a loud noise, the door to pod door started to lower.

It reached the floor with a loud bang, which made me jump, then with Scott helping him up the ramp, Gordon led us in.

I looked about, but in the darkness, I could only make out a sort of yellow shape. "Could do with some light in here, Brains," Mr Tracy said.

I spun round thinking Brains had joined us, but he wasn't there. I saw Mr Tracy stood in the doorway silhouetted by the bright light outside. He was lowering his arm. I was about to ask him about it when the lights came on. I blinked until my eyes adapted, then looked around.

In the middle of the pod was a metal track at the end of which, at the very back, was Thunderbird.

It was bright yellow with **THUNDERBIRD 4** written across the side and a **4** printed on either side of its dorsal fin. It had a red stripe around its midsection and one around its nose, quite close to the arms that held a light trough out in front of it.

"Thunderbird 4," Mr Tracy announced, spreading his arms, "our little yellow submarine. It is transported to and from danger zones in this pod by Thunderbird 2. The pod is then released over water and Thunderbird 4 is free to take on the mission. Gordon will pilot it when he's fully recovered." He glanced at Gordon and smiled. "No doubt he will be by the time we get our first assignment, as he's nearly fully recovered now." He gently rested his hands on Gordon's shoulders. "OK, time to move on. We're going to visit Thunderbird 2 now," Mr Tracy said. "When the car stops, an elevator will stop next to us, which Brains will be controlling. It is the elevator extra crew members or passengers will use as Virgil," he glanced briefly at his son, who grinned, before continuing, "has his own entrance. OK," he said, turning round totally to look Virgil in the eyes. "Your turn."

Slowly, Virgil grinned again. "I thought you said I was supposed to tell my little story when we got there."

Mr Tracy chuckled; shaking his head, then started the engines. We didn't go far forward, but we went up and doubled back on ourselves. I looked through the windows to see a huge green monster. I knew it wasn't, though, because right near the front, just behind some windows, which I assumed must be the cockpit, was a large white **2**.

"This is Thunderbird 2, which will piloted by Virgil," Mr Tracy said, as Virgil stepped forward and let his father wrap an arm round his shoulders. The car stopped and the elevator arrived. "Carry on, Virgil," Mr Tracy said, releasing him.

"Would you all please, in pairs, use the elevator to get to Thunderbird's cockpit," he announced.

When we all reached the cockpit, Virgil started walking round and naming various pieces of equipment and their functions. He then went on to start describing his craft.

"Thunderbird 2 is 250 feet long, has a wingspan of 180 feet and stands 60 feet tall, when the telescopic legs are at full length. It has a top speed of 5,000 miles per hour, but cruising speed is only 2,000 mph. Its main function is to get specialised equipment to and from the danger zone, like Thunderbird 4, which you have already seen," he said, a wide smile started to work its way across his face. "Now we should see her from the outside."

We went back to the car via the elevator, then we wound back down to where we had just left. Virgil led us past the pods, which at the time were all empty except for Pod 4. "There will be various different pieces of equipment in these pods, all specialised to the sort of rescue operation we might encounter. We will be seeing them in a few minutes," he stated with practiced ease.

We followed him past the six pods and came out under the huge green craft. "Thunderbird 2 is launched from behind this panel. At this very moment, we are behind the cliff facing the runway. The cliff face will slide down into a trench, then this inner door will lower over the gap to give me a smooth ride to the launch site. The palm trees lining the runway are there to hide the true size of the runway. Had we made it the right size for Thunderbird to get down, it would've been noticeable, so the palm trees drop back to allow me passage. I finish my journey on a section of the runway which has been converted into a take off ramp. To try to cut back on marks left by the jets, a smaller section raises behind them to collect the brunt of the jets' force."

I looked at the massive machine. It had a large white **2** printed on the underside of its nose, oneprinted on the side of the tail plane mounts and **THUNDERBIRD 2** written boldly down either side of its nose.

It really was huge. As I looked up on an attempt to see the top, I noticed Virgil move up a few paces until he was right behind me. I leaned further back, taking a couple of steps backward toward him when I stumbled.

Virgil moved swiftly and caught me. '_So that's why he moved. He knew I'd trip.'_

We headed back past the empty pods and through to a large hall. There were six sections each separated by a wall with a number on.

"These are the pod vehicles," Mr Tracy said, stopping in front of the first vehicle. "Each one has a different, but important function." He indicated a yellow vehicle with a very large silver drill as its nose.

"The Mole is used for tunnelling; making it ideal for retrieving buried people. The Firefly" he indicated a machine with a shovel-like plate, "will be used to put out fires by firing special nitro-glycerine shells at a blaze and also clearing heavy debris."

He then pointed to a strange looking car with a platform on its roof. I noticed there were three more that were identical. "The High-Speed Elevator Cars will be used if a plane has to make a landing without its landing gear. The platform-roof allows the plane to land on top of strategically placed cars. The master car needs only one driver and he will be in control of the radio subsidiaries. The Recovery Vehicles," he said, patting a machine with twin cannons, "have powerful magnets capable of righting upturned heavy vehicles. There is a master and a radio subsidiary of these as well. The Transmitter Truck," he pointed to a car with a large dish on the top, "is capable of projecting a radio beam more than 90 million miles into space."

He walked further down the line of machinery and stopped at a small vehicle with a front-mounted dish. "The Neutraliser Tractor has a sonic dish capable of neutralising other sonic wave-producing equipment. The Jet Air Transporter has a powerful jet engine, which emits a cushion of air, which can support anything up to 170 pounds." I looked at the unusual looking vehicle, as Mr Tracy walked up to the next, a small vehicle with a strange shovel on the front.

"The Excavator is a drilling and crushing machine capable of breaking rock and other debris into pebbles and dust, ideal to clear paths. The Monobrake," he indicated a machine with a long arm mounted on the back, "was designed as a search and recovery vehicle to be used in conjunction with monorail lines. The arm can be attached to the line to give it greater speed. The Booster Mortar-" he pointed to a vehicle with a large cannon, "-has a powerful cannon capable of firing auxiliary rescue equipment in capsules into danger zones too hazardous for my boys to enter." As he said this, I glanced about at the boys and they started shuffling about, looking at their boots and blushing.

He went on to another vehicle, which looked nearly identical to the last, except the cannon was slimmer. "The Laser Beam Equipment has a powerful laser cannon and blast air jets for removing obstructions once the laser has cut them free. The Domo is a restraining vehicle. It has powerful suction pads on the end of the long arms capable of holding walls in place during demolition work."

I looked at the vehicle with three jointed arms held high above it, then at the last vehicle. It had a large platform on an arm. "Finally, the Mobile Crane is a truck capable of raising the maintenance platform up to about 50 feet."

I looked back down the long line of neatly arranged vehicles. "That's a lot of equipment."

"There's more," Mr Tracy replied, simply. He led us back to the car and we continued our tour deep below the villa. We entered a large hangar bay and I was instantly shocked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr Tracy gesture to Alan who stepped forward. Mr Tracy stopped the car and turned to me. "I seem to remember you asking me about a rumbling noise." I nodded and shuddered at the memory. "Have you heard it before?" he continued, his voice calming.

I thought for a moment until the memory returned. "Yes, very early this morning. It frightened me."

"Well, there's no reason to be frightened of it, because it was just this," he said, gesturing to the huge orange ship.

'_No wonder I woke up. This thing could wake up someone on the other side of the planet.'_

Mr Tracy smiled and glanced at Alan again. "Ready?"

He nodded. "This is Thunderbird 3," he said, unable to remove the grin from his face. "It stands 287 feet high and can go, at minimum, 25,200 miles per hour. We'll use it for personnel transfer, like we did this morning. The rumbling you heard was me taking off and returning from taking John to the space station. We'll also use it for space rescues should any occur. It is launched from here. Above us is the round house and Thunderbird lifts off from the space inside the circular building."

I looked at the huge craft through the window. It was bright orange with black trimmings down the three arms attached to the engines. It had **THUNDERBIRD 3** written vertically down its side in white lettering and around the base, it had white** 3**s printed on and on the engine casing were black **3**s. It was a very impressive sight.

Mr Tracy looked at us. "It's getting close to 7 o' clock, dinner time, so you have two options: eat or see more."

I looked around at them, back at Thunderbird, then back at Mr Tracy. "I want to see where you can take this."

"Right. Thunderbirds are go!"

* * *

We were back in the lounge.

I looked around, but nothing happened.

"What exactly are we going to see?" I asked.

"Well, you've already seen Scott's entrance, time to see the rest." Mr Tracy glanced at Virgil, who nodded and stepped toward me. He took my hand and led me to a tall poster on the wall near the desk and next to Scott's entrance.

I looked at it. It was a picture of a rocket taking off, but not Thunderbird 3. This looked like one of the ones used by the Space Agency. As I looked at it, I heard Virgil mumble something to his father, then stepped away.

"Turn around," Mr Tracy said, as Virgil crossed to the other side of the room, "and stand with your back right up against the picture." He paused and as an afterthought added "Don't be frightened."

I tried my best not to, but as soon as he'd said that, I began to feel nervous. He pressed another button on his desk and I was tipped up. In fact I was tipped up so far, I slid off it head first. I was worried until my head hit something soft and I stopped moving, though I didn't stop moving altogether. I'd come to rest on a sled, which was now sliding down a long ramp way.

The sled I was on came to a stop and revolved round so I was sliding down feet first. I glanced about, but all I could see was the metal walls of the chute.

Suddenly, below me, I could see a cockpit and a section of the ramp that was different to the rest. I slid off the sled and then onto the separate section, which collapsed, becoming a chair.

I looked around the dark cockpit but the only thing I could see clearly was Virgil's yellow sash.

"Flip that white handled lever to your left." He took a few steps closer as I did. All the lights came on as a result and a steering wheel moved forward toward me. Then I heard a mechanical sound and a platform rose next to me, on my right. It was empty and served no obvious purpose. I looked at Virgil, confused.

"That's where this'll live until I come in to put it on." He indicated his uniform by tugging on his sash.

"How did you get down here?"

He pointed behind him and I remembered the elevator. He grinned.

* * *

I was back in the lounge. I looked around; they were waiting for me to say something.

"That was amazing."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Mr Tracy said, "Time to go into Thunderbird 3. Kyrano, you can go, too this time. There's room for about three or four people on Alan's entrance."

I looked at Alan who indicated a settee directly in front of the desk. I sat down with father on my left and Alan on my right. Another button was pressed and we started to descend into the dark hangar below.

I looked about and could see a long tunnel. "This is..."

"Amazing?" Alan finished for me. I laughed and took his hand as we continued our journey deep into the steep rocky hills of Tracy Island. We reached the hangar and I saw Thunderbird 3 from below. I was glad I was sat down because if I'd stumbled just trying to see the top of Thunderbird 2, who knows what I would've done trying to see the top of this craft? It seemed to go up forever.

The settee stopped directly below the centre section and we started to rise toward a hole in the hull. It continued up until we reached the lounge inside the craft. A loud clunk signalling that the settee was locked in place.

I looked at Alan who smiled and squeezed my hand. "It's late; we'd better get back to the lounge. Say, Grandma's gonna be mad; we haven't eaten all day!"

I laughed then the settee started moving again, taking us back to the lounge.

It was eleven at night. The villa was quiet. I was stood on the balcony looking at the reflection of the full moon dance on the surface of the ocean. I enjoyed standing there, unless it was raining.

We'd all finally sat down to dinner at about half eight, much to Grandma's relief, and after talking for two hours about the day's activities, they all turned in for the night.

I, on the other hand, couldn't understand how they could sleep so easily after that day.

I heard a noise behind me and turning round I saw Alan approach.

He came and stood next to me, putting an arm round my waist. "What did you think?"

"I'm impressed. How long have you been doing this?"

"About two years. It's sure been fun. The hardest part was trying to construct Thunderbird 5. We had to do that in space. That meant we had to build Thunderbird 3 first..."

"OK, I get it. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Dad would've gone mad. He's very into security now. He says this organisation has to remain top secret and no one other than us is to know that this is where we're based."

"I'm honoured." I glanced out over the ocean again, taking in the scent of the salty air.


	4. Trapped In The Sky

Chapter 4: TRAPPED IN THE SKY

About three or four weeks after I'd first arrived on the island, I had to leave to finish my course in Europe. At the end of the best summer I'd ever spent, I jetted off, leaving my father and Alan on Tracy Island. That was the hardest part of the stay.

It was the second to last day of the holidays and I was packing to leave.

"Can I come in?" Gordon asked from the doorway.

"Yes, of course you can." I watched him come in. He was fully recovered and didn't need his crutches at all anymore. The only thing now was he still had a small plaster above his eye, but that wasn't that bad. He seemed to stay in bed longer than I remembered from my last visit, but I think he was just using the excuse he had for a lie in.

"I got you something to read on the trip," he said. With that he handed me a book.

"Gordon, This is one of your research books. I can't take this."

"Yes, you can. You seem to like reading them more than I do. Anyway you'll be back in about seven months."

I thought about it for a moment, then leaned forward and gave him a hug. I pulled back. "I'll be thinking of you every day, I'll call you every day," I said.

It was too much for me and Gordon knew because he leaned back against me and let me cry on his shoulder. "I'll miss you, too," he whispered in my ear as Alan knocked on the door. He saw me crying and came right over, joining me while Gordon backed off. "I'll see you soon, Tin-Tin." I nodded.

"Why are you crying, hmm?" Alan asked, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"I'm going to miss you," I answered, dabbing my eyes with a tissue.

"Oh, don't be silly," he said, softly. "You have our number. Whenever you need someone to talk to, day or night, I'll be here, OK?"I nodded and he held me close for a long while. "Come on. Let's take your things down to the plane," he said, "Scott'll fly you back to the airport then you can get your plane." He looked me in the eye. "Don't cry though, or I won't come with you on the plane."

I laughed and dried my eyes.

Seven months later, I finished my courses and graduated with degrees in higher mathematics, advanced technical theory and engineering. I'd called them everyday. I dread to think how much extra that cost.

I was waiting at London airport for my plane to come in. I was sat in the reception area waiting for my flight to be announced, when an airhostess approached me.

"Miss Tin-Tin Kyrano?"

"Yes?"

"This is your flight. You're lucky, it's the maiden flight of the new atomic powered Fireflash."

"Isn't that the new aircraft that flies six times the speed of sound?"

"That's right, but don't worry. It's perfectly safe."

I boarded the plane, finding my seat in the port wing where I could see everything ahead of me right to the nose of the plane. '_Alan would've loved this_,' I thought absently.

We broke the sound barrier and climbed to 200,000 feet before levelling off.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen. We have now completed our take-off procedures. You may now unfasten your safety belts and smoke if you wish._"

I glanced out the window. It looked so peaceful out there among the clouds. I then remembered the book that Gordon had lent me and was just about to get it out of my bag when I realised we felt much lower than we should have been at that stage of the journey. Being a pilot, I could recognise the change in air pressure as we descended.

"I don't understand it. Something must be wrong, we're losing height," I said to myself.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen. May I have your attention, please? We have developed a minor technical fault and are returning to London. Please fasten your safety belts._"

A man seated next to me turned to face me. "Say, you're right. Oh, but I guess there's nothing to worry about."

"I hope not. It's a very long way down from here." I glanced uneasily out the window again.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. I have a very important announcement to make. We are still unable to land, but every effort is being made to ensure your safety. In the meantime, please, remain calm._"

We looked out the window and noticed we weren't alone. "Say look, there's another aircraft out there," the other passenger stated.

I watched as something was winched toward us. The other aircraft left and everything was silent for a while.

Suddenly, we started to dive. I looked out the window to see a man falling and guessed it was him on the winch.

His parachute opened and we levelled out.

I looked out the window again, hoping that Mr. Tracy and his boys were ready for action. I just knew there was more to this than what they were telling us.

I picked up my drink from the bar. Luckily the bar tender had grabbed it as we dived. I thought about the space station and hoped that whoever was up there knew what was happening down here.

'_Come on, Tin-Tin, think positively. Remember how fast they can go? They'll be here in no time if they're needed, and they might not be. Calm down,'_ I told myself sternly. '_Calm down.'_

I didn't really know much else about what happened after that until we started to lose height again. We had already dropped down to 30,000 feet and we were losing even more height, now. I glanced out the window and saw them. I knew then I was safe.

I could see sleek, grey Thunderbird 1 sat on the tarmac of a runway near the Control Tower and giant green Thunderbird 2 unloading the High-speed Elevator Cars onto our runway.

The cars started moving to match our speed. I noticed that we were attempting to land with no landing gear so assumed, remembering what I knew about them, that the Elevator cars would take its place.

A car was positioned under each wing and one under the nose, but the first try unnerved me, as the car under the wing I was in suddenly veered off in the wrong direction, collided with a grounded plane at the side of the runway and exploded.

I was started worrying. '_What if they didn't succeed?'_ I forced the thought out of my mind and concentrated on watching the second attempt.

They had a backup car in case it was needed. Lucky they did, or we'd have been in trouble.

They tried again, the same manoeuvre. The plane lowered toward the cars. I was nervous as I watched. If they pulled this off, I could guarantee I'd know what they'd be talking about when they got back. I could also guarantee I'd know what they'd be talking about if they didn't.

I'd sent Mr. Tracy a telegram saying I'd be travelling on the Fireflash, and I doubted whether the thoughts that had occurred to me hadn't occurred to him, or the boys.

We had landed safely on the three cars and had ignited its reverse thrusts, but we weren't slowing down. I suppose they must have applied maximum brakes in the Elevator cars, but we were still going too fast and running out of runway.

Suddenly, we tipped forward and quite a few people including myself fell out of our seats. I scrambled to my feet and clung onto a table as I looked out the window. The master elevator car was out of control. It tipped over and crashed on the edge of the runway.

Luckily for us, the driver had managed to keep control for long enough to push Fireflash toward the edge of the runway so we hit the grassy verge and slowed to a stop.

Before we were allowed to leave, we had to be checked out with the doctors for radiation exposure.

After asking one of the doctors I determined that the atomic generator's shielding needed servicing before we landed.

I knew what I'd be asking when I got home.

When I got out of the "surgery" they had set up on the runway – a number of ambulances crowded in a circle – I glanced around. I could still see the Thunderbirds, so I knew Scott and Virgil, at least, would still be about.

I walked across the runway, glancing at the clean-up operation as I thought about something Mr. Tracy had told me.

"If you do see them, act like you don't know them, like anyone else who met them to thank them." He'd told me this while I was still at university on one of the daily telecalls.

I saw them being hassled by a crowd of people. They weren't hard to spot in the centre, their blues uniforms stood out and their caps rose past most of the crowd's heads. I wandered over and smiled discreetly at Scott, who winked. He nudged Virgil, and received a glare in response, then made his way through the crowd of people and walked up to me. "Hi there. Are you all right now, miss?"

I tried not to laugh at his over-exaggerated politeness. He never spoke like that. "Oh, I am now, thank you."

"Say, would you like to see the things that saved your plane?"

I caught a twinkle in his eye. _What was he up to?_ "I'd love to."

He took my arm, beckoned Virgil over and we headed off toward one of the Elevator cars. They had righted the upturned one and according to Scott, it was working fine. The other one was a different story. It was still burning away in the side of a small plane, but now that Fireflash was out of harm's way, the fire brigade had turned their attention to putting it out.

Virgil caught up with us, holding his head. "Don't do that, please, Scott. I told you I've got a headache. You'd feel the same way if you were tipped upside down and left there, stuck, for a while."

"OK, OK, calm down Virge."

We climbed into the Elevator car and I took a seat.

"So, what have you got up your sleeve, Scott?"

He walked back to the entrance, glanced out and saw that the police were asking the other passengers to leave the runway and pulled the door closed.

"Yeah, come on, Scott. I want to know as well." Virgil looked at his brother with his arms folded across his chest.

Scott turned back round, a grin on his face. "We've got to get her home somehow."

I got up and walked over to him. I glared at him for a moment then wrapped my arms round his shoulders, which made him jump. "Thank you."

"That's alright. Virge, start the engines and don't forget the subsidiaries. I'm going back to Thunderbird 1. See you back at base."

The following evening, I was back at home, stood on the balcony with Alan looking at the stars.

I was glad to be home. I'd found out the problem with Fireflash, as well. It was one of many things Virgil told me in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 on the way home.

He told me that someone had planted a bomb in the landing gear meaning if we'd affected a normal landing, I'd have joined John in space in a variety of different shaped pieces.

I listened to the waves rolling onto the sandy shore below and Virgil playing on the piano, but more importantly, I was listening out for the doctor. One of the other things Virgil had told me on the way home was that just a few days before the rescue, my father had collapsed. I was worried about him so I was listening in on the conversations when I heard Brains' stuttering voice.

"Uh, uh, Mr. Tracy, the doctor would like to see you."

"Just one moment, Brains," he called, then whispered "Operation cover-up." He pressed a button in the side of the seat next to him in the middle of the lounge.

The five pictures of the boys in their uniforms slid down to reveal the original pictures of them in civilian clothing.

"OK, Brains. Show him in."

"Sure thing, Mr. Tracy."

The doctor was escorted into the lounge. Mr. Tracy went over to see him holding a newspaper. "Well, doc, what's the verdict?"

"Oh, he's A-OK, Jeff. I can't account for that dizzy spell, but I can assure you there's nothing wrong," he replied

"Well, that's great news. Thanks for flying out here the way you did."

"Oh, any time." He glanced down at the paper. The headline read "International Rescue – Who are they?" "Well, how about that, Jeff? Some story, huh?

"It sure is." He raised the paper and looked at it.

"Oh, fantastic the way the whole thing's cloaked in mystery. Oh, I sure would like to know who these people are, 'cause the one thing I'd like to do is shake 'em by the hand."

Mr. Tracy looked at him with a smile and held out his hand, which the doctor took and shook. "Well, thanks again, doc."

"So long, Jeff."

"So long." Mr. Tracy looked down at the paper as Alan and I entered from the balcony. As soon as he was sure the doctor was out of earshot, he said, "Well fellers, I guess that handshake was for all of us." He looked at the paper again. "Boys, I think we're in business"

He looked around the room with a proud look on his face. Then he saw the wall and walked across the room to press the button in the chair, recovering the International Rescue team.

As Virgil finished his tune, Mr. Tracy went to his desk and pressed another of the many buttons. This one made the eyes of John's portrait flash. I was shocked, as I'd never seen this before.

I watched and the picture disappeared to be replaced by John's smiling face.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Very well," Mr. Tracy replied. He gestured for me to join him and as I got close enough, he rested his hands on my shoulders. "Say hello to our newest member, whose back with degrees in higher maths, engineering and, um..."

"Advanced technical theory," I added for him as he released me. I looked at the screen. "It's good to, uh, see you again, John."

"Good to see you, too, Tin-Tin. Congratulations on your results, by the way. Sorry I couldn't be there to welcome you back personally, but, hey, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it!"

I laughed. "But, you were on duty when I left, and Alan was on duty during the first month I was away. Surely it should be his turn."

"Oh, no. He volunteered to stay on for an extra month so he could welcome you home long before I'd worked out whose shift you came back on!"

I glanced at Alan, who blushed. "I wanted to see you as soon as you got back."

"Alan, we were sent to rescue the plane she was on. I think she sabotaged it thinking you'd be sent, too," John said, getting a laugh from everyone in the lounge in response. "Anyway, I'd better get back to bed, I mean duty, bye guys." With that, his smiling face was replaced by his portrait.

"I guess we'd better get ready for duty or bed, or whatever, too," Mr. Tracy said. He headed for the door, stretching his arms and yawning.

It was gone two in the morning. I couldn't sleep. I was stood on the balcony looking at the book Gordon had lent me. I sat down just inside the doors, switched on a small lamp and started to read. I was glad to be back, because I knew my life had only just started to get interesting.

I looked down at the book, but the words lost focus. I fell asleep in the lounge of my home with a summer breeze blowing in through doors I'd left open. I woke the next morning in my own bed, but I don't remember how I got there and I never did get round to asking anyone.


	5. The Storm

_I had several e-mails from people asking to see these old fics when I stopped updating them, goodness only knows why. I wrote them so long ago I look at them and cringe!_

_But hey. Thanks for the reviews I've had, old and new!_

_**loonytunecrazy**: Why thank you! Lol_

_**Ms Hobgoblin**: Yes, I've updated them all at once. I find it easier to just get them all out of the way in one go just so I've got one (or 6!) less things to worry about during the week._

_So here it is. Enjoy!_

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

_Set from the point of view of Tin-Tin Kyrano_

* * *

Chapter 5: THE STORM

It was about a week after I'd got back and was very late at night. I was sat on the balcony with the boys. I suppose none of them could sleep either, because we were all sat there in our nightclothes, dressing gowns and slippers shivering slightly in the cool night air.

Mr Tracy, father and Brains were all still asleep, while Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon were with me.

About three days ago, Scott had taken Alan up to Thunderbird 5 to relieve John, so Alan was not with us.

"It's kinda cold out here," John stated, shivering more than the rest of us. He'd gotten used to the heating systems on Thunderbird meaning his environment for the past month had been exactly how he liked it.

"You'll get used to it again," Scott said in a low voice as John wrapped his dressing gown even further round him. "Just keep your voice down a bit. You know what Dad's like if he loses sleep!"

We all laughed quietly. Mr Tracy was the sort of person who wouldn't be the best of company if he were woken in the night.

I stood up and walked over to the railing on the balcony. There was a cool summer breeze that smelled of the ocean. The full moon was casting its reflection on the slowly dancing water surface.

I looked up at the stars. "Where abouts is the space station? Can you see it from Earth?"

Scott got up and walked over to stand beside me, his blue eyes quickly scanning the sky before pointing to a very bright and somehow isolated star. "There she is."

I looked at it as John and Gordon joined. Virgil moved his seat further out onto the balcony and sat looking up with us.

I smiled at him and looked up again. It really was beautiful and, because I'd been on the other side of the world, a different view to the one I'd had at university.

I sat down on one of the chairs inside the balcony doors, shivering slightly, though nowhere near as severely as John.

I crossed the room and picked up my poncho from where I'd left it earlier in the day. I handed it to John. "Here. Wrap it round yourself. You'll feel a lot warmer."

"Thanks, Tin-Tin." He took it off me and put it on. We couldn't help laughing.

I sat back down and looked round the lounge. The portraits showed the boys in their uniforms.

Mr Tracy's desk had pieces of paper scattered about it, giving it an untidy but used feel.

Gordon and Scott's last chess game lay unfinished on the table.

"How long have you been back now, Tin-Tin? Two, three weeks?" John asked, walking away from the balcony to sit facing me. It was a reasonable question, as he was on duty when I returned, but very unlikely guesses.

"Actually, I've been back about one week."

"Come on, John. Just because it's about three in the morning, does that mean you don't remember talking to her the night after our first mission?" Scott asked as he sat down with us, his back to the balcony. He laughed at John's poor memory of the event.

"Leave him alone. He's been asleep since then," Gordon said, joining us. We all laughed except Virgil. He was still sat facing out over the ocean, the chair with its back to us.

"Virgil?" I called softly. No answer.

"He's probably ignoring us. Hey, Virge!" Scott called noisily.

"Hey, Scott, remember what you keep telling us? Take some of your own advice," Gordon whispered.

I looked at the back of the chair. I could see his hand hanging over the edge nearly touching the floor. I couldn't see his feet as they were up on the long sun-lounger. We walked over to be in front of him, only to find he was fast asleep. We didn't even notice the black thunderclouds approaching fast.

"Well. I didn't realise just what he could sleep through," Gordon stated.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble followed by a bright flash. We spun round to look at the sky as another lightning flash lit up the night. A storm was coming. We'd have to wake Virgil to get him inside or he'd get soaked. We'd also have to wake Mr Tracy.

"Gordon, you and John try to revive Sleeping Beauty, Tin-Tin and I will wake the others. We've got to make sure everything is locked down," Scott yelled over another rumble of thunder.

"Do you think we should? I mean, we could leave him here. Soon as he starts getting wet, he'll come in," John said, laughing.

"Just wake him!" Scott shouted.

We left the lounge to go and get Brains, Mr Tracy and my father. We'd been beaten to it. Father was already up and had already woken Brains.

"Tin-Tin, you come in with me. Kyrano, could you and Brains go and wait in the lounge, and while you're there, can you check that John has woken Virgil?"

Father nodded and while he and Brains headed to the lounge, Scott and I headed to Mr Tracy's room, which was down the corridor from mine, about two doors away.

We all headed off to wake Mr Tracy. His room was down the corridor from mine, about two doors away.

We silently opened the door and headed across the tidy floor. It was totally dark in there, except for the light coming in through the open door.

We reached the bed and Scott crouched low next to it. "Father." He gently nudged him. "Father, I'm sorry, but you've got to wake up."

Mr Tracy stirred, rolled over to face us and slowly opened his eyes. "Scott?" He blinked several times. "What are you doing? It's ten past four in the morning," he said, after glancing at his bedside clock. I could tell he was tired by the strain in his voice.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, father, but there's a storm…" Scott started, but was broken off by a rumble much closer than the previous ones.

"…Coming," he finished.

"Ah, I see. That's different. Are the others all awake?"

"Yes, father. They're all in the lounge."

"Go on in there with them. I'll join you as soon as I can keep my eyes open!" he said, blinking.

Scott looked from his father to me, rolled his eyes, then started off toward the lounge.

* * *

I arrived in the lounge after Scott, about five minutes after the rain started. I looked about to see that they had shut the balcony doors. I also saw Virgil wander past me, dripping wet and scowling at John and Gordon. I hid a grin until he was gone. "What did you…? Scott told you to make sure he was awake and in before the rain started." 

"We couldn't get him in before he was awake. You know, Virgil really does sleep through anything. We couldn't wake him. He only woke when we backed off because it was raining so heavily," Gordon said.

"Yeah, um, we tried for ages to wake him, but he uh, I think he was trying to stay asleep," John added.

"Why don't I believe you?" I looked from one brother to the other, the suggested: "I think you'd better stay out of his way for a couple of days."

Just then, Mr Tracy walked in, wearing his dressing gown and looking as though he really wanted to be asleep in his bed.

"Where's Virgil?" He looked round the room, then searched Scott out. "Scott, I thought you said everyone was in here?"

"Virgil is up. He was sat on the balcony when it started raining, though," John said in a small voice, looking at the ground.

I glanced back from him to Mr Tracy. "He went to get changed."

"Oh, great," Mr Tracy looked at John and Gordon, then turned round as Virgil walked back in, towelling his hair. "Ah, there you are. I wouldn't bother drying your hair, you may be getting wet again in a minute," he said as Virgil took a seat. "Right, the first thing we need to do is check the weather reports and find out how long this is gonna last and how strong the winds'll be. You can do that, Gordon." He glanced out the window at the violently swaying palm trees. "Looks like they're gonna be strong.

"Virgil, you take Thunderbird 2 and Scott over to the radio mast, lower one of you down and check it's secure and won't sustain too much damage."

"FAB, father," Virgil and Scott said almost simultaneously.

"Brains, you'd better go with them. They may need your help."

"Ah, ah sure thing, Mr Tracy."

"Kyrano, can you and John make sure all the windows and doors are properly shut and boarded up if necessary."

"Certainly, Mr Tracy." Father bowed his head and gestured for John to follow.

"Tin-Tin, we're going to have to contact Alan and let him know what's going on down here. He may get distressed if he's cut off and doesn't know why."

"Alright, Mr Tracy."

* * *

As we all headed off to do our different tasks in the raging storm, I couldn't help but smile a little. It wasn't often that I got to talk to Alan when he was on duty. 

Mr Tracy pressed a button and the eyes on Alan's picture flashed. It was about five minutes before he finally answered. He was blurry eyed and yawning and instead of his smart uniform, he was wearing scruffy pyjamas.

"Sorry to wake you, son, but you have to know what's going on. You may lose contact with us." He looked at Alan's attire. "Didn't I ask you to get rid of those ridiculous things ages ago?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, what did you say, dad?" Alan rubbed his eyes, then looked back at us.

"There's a storm heading our way." A loud rumble and a bright flash corrected Mr Tracy. "Sorry, make that: There's a storm here. We may lose contact with you. We'll have emergency power, of course, but I don't know how effective that will be on such a long distance."

"A storm? How bad is it?"

"Bad enough. I've already sent Brains, Virgil and Scott to check the radio mast is properly secured, and Kyrano and John are sealing doors and windows."

As Gordon walked up to his father to report back on what he'd found out from weather reports, I turned back to Alan's monitor. "If you ask me, Alan, you're in the right place. There aren't any storms in space," I said to him.

He smiled, but then everything went black.

"This is what I was afraid of: A power cut." Mr Tracy's voice was still calm in the darkness of the lounge. "Tin-Tin, under my desk, there should be a torch; could you get it for me?"

I felt my way across the dark room to find Mr Tracy's desk. A lightning flash lit up the blackness for a split second; too quick for me to recognise the person who was suddenly in front of me. I jumped, then screamed.

"Whoa," the figure grabbed at my hands that I was waving round wildly in my fright. The voice was familiar, but I couldn't put a name to it. "It's OK, it's just me; John."

"You frightened the life out of me," I admitted.

"Yeah, I heard. If you're going to scream, don't do it in my ear!"

"If you're going to sneak up on someone, don't make it me!" I replied, laughing.

I carried on trying to find the desk and found it the hard way. I walked into it hard.

"Ow! I found your desk, Mr Tracy," I moaned, holding my hip. There'd be a bruise there by morning.

"Are you alright, Tin-Tin?" Mr Tracy's voice carried through the darkness.

"Yeah, sure." I crouched down, leaving a hand firmly on top of the desk so I'd know where it was, and found the torch. I switched it on and immediately felt a lot calmer with a little light in the room.

"Ah, good," Mr Tracy said, noting the change in the light level. "Now, then. Tin-Tin, can you shine that light over here, please?"

I looked about to see where he was. He was under the portraits of the boys, next to a statue. I shone the torch over there then walked over to give him a brighter supply than what I was giving him from the other side of the room.

He bent down behind the statue and started playing with a small box. Then, lights started to come on, but only very dimly.

"There." He brushed his hands together and wiped them down his dressing gown; small clouds of dust rose from his movements. "Emergency power, operational."

I walked back across the room after giving Gordon the torch, and sitting on the edge of his desk, I started looking at the contents of the table.

A short while later, Virgil's eyes started flashing.

"Tin-Tin, do you know which button to press, yet?" Mr Tracy asked.

"Uh, no, sorry."

"Don't worry," he sighed. He walked across the room and pointed out a button. "That one. Go ahead, press it."

I pressed the button and the bleeping that accompanied the flashing stopped.

"Go ahead, Virgil." Mr Tracy turned round and I looked up. We saw that it wasn't Virgil we were talking to. "Oh, Scott, where's Virgil?"

"He's just being winched back inside by Brains. We've secured the mast. I'm guessing we've had a power cut."

"You're guessing is right. Why did Virgil go down?"

"Well, he was already wet, so we volunteered him to save us all getting wet."

"Volunteered or forced?"

"We wouldn't force him."

"Fair enough, we can always hear his side of the story when he gets back to the cockpit."

Scott leaned forward in the pilot's chair: his hand reaching toward the extra controls. "Uh, shouldn't we be saving that emergency power, father?" He cut the link and Virgil's portrait reappeared.

Mr Tracy laughed and shook his head. "Ever since they were little, one of them has to start playing jokes while I'm trying to be serious."

I smiled and looked around in the dim light. Father and John had just finished checking the balcony doors and were pulling the curtains. I suddenly felt cold and wished Alan were there to make me feel better.

I could hear the rain hitting the roof hard and then a loud rumble lasting longer than any clap of thunder would.

"Ah, they must be back." A smile spread across Mr Tracy's face. "I have a feeling Scott is gonna go and hide in his room," Mr Tracy said.

I smiled and watched as Brains, Scott and a dripping wet Virgil reappeared in the lounge. While the other two were in their pyjamas and dressing gowns, Virgil still wore his blue uniform, which was a darker shade than normal.

"Well, if everything is all sorted, I'm gonna…" Scott started, stretching and pretending to yawn.

Mr Tracy smiled at me. "Not so fast, Scott," he said, grabbing Scott by the collar as he tried to get past him, "Now Virgil. Did you volunteer to go out into the rain to check the mast?"

"At first, no," Virgil said, shivering as he pulled off his boots. "Scott said I should go down because I was already wet and threw all sorts of excuses as to why I should go down at me." I looked over at Scott, who was sat on the chair; his father's hand was still clamped firmly on the collar of his dressing gown. I looked back round as Virgil continued. "I eventually agreed when he reminded me that it was him who let me in after Gordon and John shut me out on the balcony."

I glanced over at Gordon and John who were desperately trying to hide as Virgil pulled off his soggy uniform sweater. He snuck up behind them and rang water out of it over his brothers' heads, causing them to jump at the sudden coldness down their necks, and ran out of the room.

* * *

After we'd all finished doing our jobs, we went to bed. Mr Tracy seemed only too pleased to leave and get back to his room. 

I followed him down the corridor until he got to his room.

"Goodnight, Tin-Tin, and next time you all decide to sit up on the balcony, make sure there's not a storm coming first. Especially if Virgil falls asleep out there," he said, smiling slightly. He yawned and said goodnight again.

* * *

I sat in my room listening to the storm and reading by the light of a candle on my bedside table. I was still unable to sleep. I heard a knock at the door. It wasn't very loud, but then again, it wouldn't be unless whoever it was wanted to wake Mr Tracy again. 

I put my book down, pulled on my dressing gown and walked to the door. I opened it to see Scott stood there.

"You still can't sleep, either?"

"No. I've tried everything, including reading some of Gordon's boring research books," he said.

"Hey, I like those."

"Shh." He held a finger to his lips and indicated a door a little further down the corridor.

I beckoned him inside and he sat on my bedside chair. I sat down on my bed and shivered slightly in the cold stormy air.

"If you're cold, why don't you sit under your covers?" he said. It was a reasonable suggestion and I was about to carry it out, then there was another knock on the door and Virgil, John and Gordon walked in.

"Let me guess. Can't sleep?" Scott said.

"Nope," John replied, crossing my room to sit on the other end of my bed.

"We saw Scott come in," Virgil added. His hair was still wet from his outside activities.

"And you had to come and stick your noses in."

"Scott, don't be like that. We'd have probably still been sat on the balcony if it hadn't started raining," I said, then lowered my voice a little further for emphasis. "Just keep your voices down. My room's a lot closer to our fathers' rooms than the balcony."

We sat and finished our conversation and let it go off on many different courses, but I don't remember much after that; I guess I fell asleep. I do remember, though only vaguely as I was very sleepy, that while Virgil lifted me up, Scott pulled back my sheets, and that they all left after Virgil had put me down and tucked me in like my father used to when I was a child.

I fell asleep again after that.

* * *

I didn't wake up until gone midday. The ground outside was wet and there were puddles all over the patio. The sun was high in the sky and reflected in a glistening light show off the puddles, making it hard to see the boys as they cleared up palm leaves that had been blown off the trees. 

I walked down the stairs carefully so as not to slip on their wet surface.

They saw me and waved. Virgil wandered over and handed me a broom. "Do you want to help?"

"Do I have a choice?" I asked.

"Nope." I looked up to see Scott on a ladder clearing debris off of the patio furniture coverings. He looked down and smiled.

"Thanks," I took the broom from Virgil and started sweeping all the palm leaves and things off the patio, picking up things of value like chairs and tables as I went.

After about an hour, we finished clearing the patio and swimming pool area.

We headed off up the steps to go back into the villa. When I was about half way up the stairs, I turned back to look over the patio, and noticed Scott on his hands and knees at the edge of the pool.

I turned to Gordon. "What's Scott doing?"

He turned round to look at his brother who was now reaching down to pull out a palm leaf. "Oh, it's his job to keep the pool clear because Thunderbird 1 is under there waiting to be launched."

* * *

We went inside and round the house removing all the boards that were put up and made sure the doors and windows could still be opened. It was a long job, but I didn't mind doing it. It gave me something to do. 


	6. Discovery

_Hi! How did you like The Storm? Thanks as always to the readers and reviewers._

_**loonytunecrazy**: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Enjoy this one!_

_**Ms Hobgoblin**: Thanks! I was a little worried that where I'd written it so long ago it would seem a bit… I dunno… annoying or something. But I'm glad you like it!_

_

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 6: DISCOVERY

After we'd gone round the entire house, Mr Tracy appeared from his room, carrying boards from his windows. He looked a lot happier than I'd thought he would after the disturbed night we'd had.

"Right," he said. Looking about, he saw Scott come back in from the patio. "Ah, Scott, do we have power again yet?"

"No, father, sorry. We didn't want to disturb you so we went outside to clear up first."

He looked around again and saw the other boys milling around carrying planks of wood to be put back into storage, burnt down candles, dead matches, used batteries, all the sorts of things you get through in a black out.

"I guess we'd better get the power rebooted then."

"Do you want my help, father?" Scott asked.

"Uh, yeah, OK. You can help too, Tin-Tin."

After collecting a torch, we walked down to the basement. It was dark and smelled musty. When we reached the bottom, I switched on the torch and Mr Tracy tried the lights. Nothing happened. "Just checking."

I looked around. I was surrounded by rocky walls; I guess we must have been inside the hills.

I looked over to where Scott and Mr Tracy had gone. They were on the other side of the basement next to a box on the wall.

Mr Tracy was opening it just as I got there. I held the torch up so they could see what they were doing. He flipped a few switches and the lights came on.

We were in a big space, which was full of junk. I looked around, as I turned off the torch. There were boxes with each of the boys' names on; one for Scott, Virgil and the others. I looked in the first box I came across; it was John's. There were baby pictures, old teddy bears, baby grows, all the sorts of things you'd normally find in a basement or attic.

Scott turned round. "Say, what you looking at, Tin-Tin?"

I looked up as he walked over. I showed him a picture I'd pulled out of his box and his face dropped. "Oh, no, Dad," he moaned, turning to look at his father. "Why d'you have to bring her down here? I'd forgotten this lot was here."

I was about to say something when I heard a bleeping noise. I looked about to see where it could be coming from but then I saw Mr Tracy raise his arm. I looked at him confused.

"Jeff Tracy here. Oh, hi Brains. What's wrong?"

"_We've received an emergency call from A-A-A-Alan in the space station._"

"OK, Brains. I'll be right there." He turned to us. "Coming?"

I nodded then turned to Scott. "What's with the watch?"

"Watch? Oh, I see. We have communicators in our watches for emergencies." He raised his arm and pressed a button on the side of his watch. "This is Scott Tracy calling John Tracy, Scott Tracy calling John Tracy; come in John." I looked at his watch and the dial disappeared to be replaced by John's face.

"What's wrong, Scott?" He sounded very alarmed.

"Whoa, calm down, John. I'm just demonstrating the intricacies of the wristwatch telecom."

"Oh. Oh, alright." Now he sounded disappointed. I felt sorry for John. He rarely got to go on rescues.

* * *

We reached the lounge and I saw that Brains and Virgil were talking to a monitor bearing Alan's face.

"What's the problem?" Mr Tracy asked as Alan terminated the link.

"There's been an explosion in a tower in Tokyo causing a fire, which the fire crews there are unable to control," Virgil reported.

"Th-there are a group of t-tourists buried, uh, underneath the wreckage of the-the tower. They're alive, but t-trapped," Brains added.

"Right. Scott, you get Thunderbird 1 out there and set up. Alan can give you more details when you're airborne."

"FAB," Scott said, walking over to his panel.

* * *

About five minutes later, Scott radioed us.

"_I've had more details from Alan and I think we're gonna need the fire fighting equipment and a double crew. Oh, and probably the tunnelling equipment._"

"OK, Scott. Thanks." Mr Tracy looked round the room. Virgil was sat on the settee, waiting hopefully. He knew he'd be needed. "Virgil, get down to Thunderbird 2. You'll need Pod 1 and I'm sending John with you. OK, off you go." He turned to the multitude of buttons and pressed one marked "John". He appeared on his portrait / monitor, reading a book and apparently unaware he was being watched. "John, get up here. You're going with Virgil on a rescue."

I looked into the screen again to see him jump off his bed and drop his book on the floor; all the disappointment from earlier was completely gone to be replaced by excitement.

* * *

A couple of hours later, I was sat just inside the balcony looking out over the ocean through closed doors. There was a strong breeze out there, a kind of reminder of the previous night's storm.

I heard a noise outside and looked about to see which way it was coming from. I knew what it was; Scott had returned from the fire. I looked back across the lounge and Mr Tracy nodded. He'd heard it, too.

He pressed a button on his desk and the swimming pool below began to slide back to reveal the opening beneath it.

I looked up and Thunderbird 1 started lowering towards the opening. I crossed the room to sit on the settee.

I heard a mechanical noise and the panel swung round revealing a very messy Scott still in his uniform.

"What happened, then?" Mr Tracy asked.

"Well, once Virgil arrived we soon got to blaze under control and we also managed to stop the fire from spreading any further. The tourists were all OK, a few bruises and scrapes, one broken arm and they were all a bit shaken up, but fine."

"That's good to hear," I said. "Do you know why the fire started?"

"Actually, I do. The building's foundations were in unstable ground and they've been trying to make it safer for a long time, but have been unsuccessful. So they planted explosives to demolish the tower but something went wrong and the explosion was uncontrolled."

"What about the tourists? How did they become trapped?" Mr Tracy asked.

"They were in the area and didn't understand the warning signs. They were looking through a phrase book trying to find the translation when the explosion occurred." Scott walked across the room and was about to sit down, but decided not to when he saw his father shook his head at him. "Are there any more questions, or can I go now?"

"Just one more," I said, smiling. "Did you try to put the fire out with your bare hands?"

He looked down at his uniform. "I think I'll go get cleaned up."

"You do that. Are Virgil and John far behind?" Mr Tracy asked.

"No, I don't think so." He walked off, wiping his forehead.

"Oh, Scott," Mr Tracy called. Scott whirled round, pulling off his sash as he did. "Put your uniform into the auto-wash straight away. I don't want your room smelling like a bonfire."

* * *

About ten or fifteen minutes later, Virgil and John returned. They were just as dirty and sweaty as Scott.

John came forward to give me a hug, but I backed off. "You want to hug me, you clean up first. I don't want to have to do extra cleaning!" I smiled at him. Then I started laughing. His face as covered with dirt, his normally clean blond hair was nearly brown and his smart uniform was no longer blue. Virgil was no better; it was hard to tell what colour his sash had once been.

* * *

That evening, I went back down to the basement with Virgil. He didn't seem to mind the idea of me looking at his baby pictures as much as Scott. Actually, I think he was interested himself to see them.

We reached the big rocky room and switched on the lights.

"You know, we're not allowed in here when Thunderbird 3 is due back or lifting off," Virgil suddenly said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

He walked over to one of the walls and leaned on it. I followed and put my hand against it. Nothing felt strange. It felt just like a rock wall should.

"That doesn't help," I said.

"Thunderbird 3 silo is on the other side of this wall. Dad doesn't want us in here in case anything happens."

"So why do you keep all your childhood memories in here?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just telling you what I've been told myself."

We walked in a little further until we reached the boxes.

I looked at the first box. It had something written on the side but I couldn't tell what because it was too dusty. I brushed at it and a big cloud of dust rose, making me cough. I looked at it again. I'd uncovered Alan's name.

While Virgil wandered round the basement looking at the small bikes complete with stabilisers, I rummaged round in the box. There were pictures of him at various stages of his young life, baby grows, teething rings, that sort of thing. I dug a little deeper and found a piece of paper. I pulled it out and dusted it off. It was Alan's birth certificate. I read it. "March 12th 2044".

I went to the next box and brushed off the name. It was John's box. I dug around and found what I was looking for. His birth certificate read "October 8th 2040"

I continued looking and brushing away dust to read the comments on the paper. Scott's read "April 4th 2039" and Gordon's "February 14th 2043".

I came to the last box, brushed away the dust and read Virgil's name. I dug around to find his birth certificate. I read it and gasped.

"What's wrong, honey?" Virgil asked, walking over.

I thought fast for an excuse. "Oh, nothing. I just, uh, found a spider."

Virgil laughed. "Is that all?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, silly of me, I guess. It's probably more afraid of me than I am of it." I glanced around pretending to look for it as Virgil wandered over to look at a collection of toys. I looked over as he crouched down and picked up a very small, very dusty toy piano.

'_Typical Virgil. His mind is always on music.' _"Let me guess," I called out, trying to overcome the shock I'd just had. "Your first piano?"

He nodded and I turned back round to look at the piece of paper again, checking I'd read the date correctly. "August 15th 2041". I'd read it right, but that meant it was Virgil's birthday tomorrow.


	7. Many Happy Returns

_Welcome to another chapter. Hope you liked the last. I know, I know, it's all complete tack cos I wrote it so long ago. But hey, here's the next one._

_**Ms Hobgoblin**: I love imagining them as kids, especially working in a nursery. I keep looking at some of our kids and thinking 'you could be a young Scott', 'you could be a young Alan', heck I swear we've got a Jeff in the making! Lol, so the baby boxes had to go in._

_**loonytunecrazy**: Thank you for the praise, really helps. The story is complete, but it does help to see positive comments coming back about work that I cringe over! Lol! Glad you like it though. Enjoy the next chapter._

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 7: MANY HAPPY RETURNS

I was back in the lounge with Mr Tracy and Virgil. I was hoping Virgil would leave because I wanted to talk to Mr Tracy about him.

I looked at my watch; it was getting late. I turned to Virgil who was sat in the chair. He had his arms folded behind his head, his legs stretched out in front of him and his eyes shut. '_He could be asleep, but I'm not going to risk it_.'

"Virgil? Virgil, are you awake?"

"What do you want?" His eyes were still shut.

"I was just wondering if you'd turn the fan on in my room for me. It always gets stuffy in my room at this time of night."

I glanced round at Mr Tracy who had put down his paper and was now watching with interest.

"Why can't you do it when you go in there?" Virgil asked, his eyes still shut.

"Oh, please, Virgil?"

He turned his head and opened his eyes to look at me. I smiled my sweetest smile. "Please?"

He sighed. "Oh, alright." He got up to leave.

"Thank you, Virgil." I didn't really want the fan on and I'd be too cold when I went to bed, but I had to get rid of him somehow.

When he was gone, Mr Tracy spoke up. "What was all that about?"

"I wanted to talk to you about him, but I don't want him to hear."

"Oh," he said, gathering up his paper.

"I found Virgil's birth certificate when I was in the basement and it said it's his birthday tomorrow. I was just wondering..."

"Tomorrow?" Mr Tracy seemed to go pale as a look of shock and disbelief crossed his face. "Oh, no. The mail plane won't arrive in time."

"What? Why?"

"Well, we've got him a proper paint kit; the sort with easels, paints, brushes, that sort of thing because we know how much he loves to paint. The problem is it won't arrive until the day after tomorrow. How could I forget when my own son's birthday was?"

He out his head into his hands as I looked at the look on his face and looked for something to say. "At least you remembered. Some people forget it entirely rather than getting the day wrong by a few. Virgil won't mind."

He looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Tin-Tin. You've always known how to make me feel calmer."

* * *

The next day, I got up early, as did everyone except Virgil.

Father made him a cake with 24 candles on. "Father, don't you think Virgil is too old for blowing out candles? Especially seeing as there are 24."

I laughed when I saw father's face; he'd taken me seriously. I hugged him and told him not to.

* * *

At nearly three in the afternoon, we couldn't wait any longer for Virgil to get up. '_Gordon was right,'_ I thought to myself as we walked down the corridor. '_Virgil can sleep through anything.'_

We got to his room and I went inside. The curtains were still drawn so the bright sunshine outside was having a hard time getting in.

I looked at the bed where Virgil was still sleeping soundly on his side. I almost didn't want to wake him.

Almost.

"Virgil," I nudged him gently. "Virgil?"

He brushed at my hand and turned onto his other side. He was now facing the window. An idea occurred to me.

I crossed the room and with a firm hold of the curtains behind my back, I faced him. "Hey, Virgil!" I shouted loud enough to bring him round.

He opened his eyes. "What is it, honey?"

I smiled and opened the curtains, allowing light to pour into the room. Virgil shut his eyes, moaned and pulled the covers over his head. "What are you doing?"

I walked back across the room, pulled his sheets back to see his squinting face and crouched down next to him. "I'm trying to wish you a happy birthday."

He sat up and looked at me. "What?"

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot your own birthday."

"Oh. No, I didn't. I'm just not registering anything first time round at the minute. I'm still tired."

"Why? What were you doing last night?"

"I was reading and I guess I let time get away from me. It was about quarter past five when I put my book away."

"Ah, I see. Anyway, happy birthday."

"Thanks, honey."

I looked up and out the door. Scott was stood there. I nodded to him and he whispered "F.A.B."

The next thing we knew, Scott, Gordon and John walked in singing followed by our fathers carrying the cake. It had "HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRGIL" written on it in blue icing letters and the 24 yellow candles.

I joined them in their song, but let me tell you now; they may be the world's greatest rescuers, but from what I heard of John, Gordon and Scott, they'll never be the world's greatest singers. I'll stick with listening to the Cass Carnaby Five or Michelle and the Asteroids.

As we finished, Virgil blew out his candles and I caught father smiling at me as if to say I told you so.

Then I suddenly remembered that while I was at university, I'd gotten each of them a gift for their next birthday when I was away.

I went to my room and got the gift I'd brought back for Virgil. It was wrapped in blue paper with a yellow ribbon round it.

I took it back to Virgil's room and handed it to him with a small kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Virgil."

He took it off me and started to unwrap it. He made a slow job of it, but he finally got to what was inside; it was a wooden frame, and inside was a picture of their family and me that I'd taken with me to university. I had a friend there who could draw anyone from a picture. She'd drawn it for me and painted it. It almost looked like the original photo itself, only it wasn't actually a photo.

He looked at it then back at me, hugged me close and whispered "thank you" in my ear.

It was about the same size as a normal photo so he put it on his bedside desk then shooed us all out to get dressed.

* * *

After we'd had our lunch, the next day, we went outside for a swim. We raced each other, but Gordon had this knack of winning those races, but then, he was an Olympic champion at the butterfly stroke and one of the world's fastest freestyle swimmers.

We played water volleyball and other such games, but mostly, we just swam about; enjoying the afternoon and knowing that at anytime Alan might radio us a distress call and spoil our fun.

About an hour after we'd got into the pool, we saw the mail plane come in to land.

We all piled out of the pool, and after getting dried off as much as we could, we headed inside to see what it had brought for us.

Mr Tracy had his papers and letters from his mother, I had a few letters from friends I'd met at university (Mr Tracy had said I could give a few people my address) and finally, there was a large box addressed to Virgil. I knew straight away what it was.

He opened it and looked at the contents. I'd never seen him so happy. It had the easels, paints, brushes, pencils, everything including a funny apron and hat, which I knew Virgil would look like ridiculous in but would wear for the fun of it.

At the end of the day, Virgil came into my room and sat on my bed as I put away some clean washing in my wardrobe.

"Thanks for my gift. It's really good. Did one of your friends do it?"

"Yes. A girl called Nadine did it. She did a degree in art and wanted the practise."

"She's very good."

"Yeah, I know. I've seen some of her early work. Actually, it was Nadine who wrote to me."

"Well, when you write back, tell her from me she deserves her degree and that I love the picture." With that he left my room and headed off to his own to get ready for bed.

* * *

I was lying in my bed looking at the ceiling and thinking about what had happened that and the previous few days.

There was another rescue operation, Virgil's birthday, the storm, which had left us without power, and I'd made a discovery in the basement. I knew where to go to get items for use in bribery if any of them mucked about!

I smiled at this thought and slowly drifted to sleep.


	8. Pranks

_I still can't believe that anyone would want to read this fic! I was still practically a kid when I wrote it so cringe something chronic still! Lol, but hey, thanks for those who do read and review!_

_**loonytunecrazy**: Work will be attempted on further episodes once my work commitments are out of the way._

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

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Chapter 8: PRANKS

It was two or three weeks after Virgil's birthday, so it must have been early September.

Earlier in the day, Scott had left with John to retrieve Alan. The island was a lot quieter without the two oldest Tracy brothers.

I was swimming in the pool, while Virgil was lounging about on the patio furniture, pretending not to sleep. He'd chosen one of the plastic chairs next to the pool and had been talking to me when he first came out, but I guess he ran out of things to say.

I'd been in the pool for about ten minutes when I heard the deafening roar of Thunderbird 3 returning from space.

I watched it until I could no longer see it, then swam to the edge of the pool to see if Virgil was asleep.

"Virgil? Are you awake?" No answer. I tried again. "Virgil?" I called, louder than before. Still no answer. I was glad he had picked a plastic chair.

I climbed out of the pool and walked over to the table where I'd left a plastic cup. I picked it up, went back to the pool and filled it. Then, keeping hold of the cup, I threw its contents in Virgil's direction.

I dropped the cup as he woke with a start and dove into the pool out of his reach.

I looked up from my hiding place beneath the surface to see him bent over the edge of the pool looking at me. I swam up quickly and pulled his shirt causing him to fall in.

He surfaced and drew in a deep breath, then he looked at me. He laughed, then splashed me, which made little difference to me, as I was already totally wet.

He climbed out of the water and plodded over to his chair.

"What d'you do that for, Tin-Tin?" he asked, grinning at me.

"You were being boring. I wanted something to do. And seeing as you're the only one out here..."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong. Alan's coming. If you want something to do, torture Alan." Virgil waved at his brother as he came down the stairs, every movement he made flicked water in all directions.

I looked to where Virgil was waving and saw Alan's smiling face. Then I realised, as he got closer, that he wasn't only smiling, he was laughing at the state Virgil was in.

"Ha, ha, very funny." He rang more water out of his trousers. There was quite a puddle forming under his chair. "If I were you, Alan, I wouldn't sit too close to the pool. She might drag you in for being boring!"

Alan looked down at me, then at his wet brother. He stepped back and held up his hands. "She has taken me prisoner!" He ran toward the pool and leaped in. Virgil rolled his eyes, then wandered up the stairs, leaving a trail of water to follow, while Alan and I played in the water like kids until it started getting dark; at which point we went and stood on the balcony, looking at the stars. I was glad Alan was back. I wished he'd been here during the storm. I always felt better when he was with me.

We looked out over the ocean. I could smell the salt in the cool air.

Then I heard something that wasn't a wave on the shore and it was coming from behind me. Turning round I saw Mr Tracy walk over to his desk.

I nudged Alan and indicated his father, while holding a finger to my lips; he hadn't noticed us yet.

He cleared away some papers, then pressed a button, which made the desk rise up into its overnight position: out of reach of anyone.

We couldn't keep quiet any longer and let out a giggle, which made Mr Tracy spin round suddenly.

"Don't do that." I could see we'd made him jump. "What are you two still doing up, anyway? It's nearly midnight."

"We were just going to bed," Alan answered.

"Separately, I hope. You have a knack of staying up talking until the early hours." He looked at me specifically as he said this.

"How...? We thought you were asleep," I said.

"You'd be surprised at just how many of your conversations I hear," he said, laughing. "Now, go on. Bed. Both of you."

"OK, Mr Tracy," I said, laughing with him.

We headed off to our rooms as Mr Tracy switched the lights off, plunging the villa into darkness.

* * *

The next day, Alan and I were going to go swimming again; this time he'd wear his swimming gear, but it was quite breezy so we decided to go out in the boat to do some fishing instead.

Where it was quite breezy we got a good distance from the island. It would have been the ideal opportunity to talk, if we didn't have Gordon and Scott with us.

I was sat on a stool by the edge of the boat with Alan next to me and had our fishing lines hanging over the side. Scott and Gordon were lying on sun loungers with their feet up and their eyes shut. I guessed they were asleep.

"Does fishing always take this long?" I asked.

"Patience, Tin-Tin. Fishing is a very slow sport, which is why I went in for motor racing; much faster," Alan replied. Before International Rescue, he was a champion racing car driver, but he retired when his father told him about the job in the "family business" he had for him!

"Yes, but it's also over much faster!" I laughed, then turned round to look at the other two. "Do you think they're actually asleep?"

As Alan turned round to answer, Scott spoke up, his eyes still shut. "I'm not asleep; I'm just resting my eyes." He smiled and slowly opened them, then he looked over at Gordon. "Let's see, regular breathing, rapid eye movement, I think he's asleep." A grin slowly appeared across his face, "shall we have some fun?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Alan asked, barely able to keep the grin from his face.

"Well, when Gordon sleeps, it's a deep sleep, so we don't really have to worry about disturbing him." He glanced back at his sleeping brother. "I think we should start the motors, go home and leave him locked in a cabin! He'll be more confused when he wakes up than he is when he's up against me in chess!"

"How will he get out, though?" I asked.

"Oh, he'll be able to get out," Scott said, waving a hand dismissively. "There's a radio in each cabin. It'll take him a while before he realises that though. If we hide the spare key somewhere in there, it'll be ages before he comes back." Scott grinned again. Alan giggled quietly, glancing at Gordon to make sure he hadn't woken or heard.

Normally, I didn't join in on their pranks, but seeing as I was on a boat in the ocean, I couldn't really just walk away. '_Who am I kidding?' _I thought. '_What a lame excuse.' _To tell the truth, I fancied a bit of fun!

* * *

We were sat up in the lounge about two hours later. Gordon still hadn't come back in but I wasn't worried because I could see the boat safely moored at the jetty.

"I'm gonna get a drink. D'you want one, Tin-Tin?" Alan asked me.

"Yes, please."

"Anything in particular and before you say anything, I will get you one, Scott. I was asking Tin-Tin first."

I laughed as Scott sat there with his mouth open. He'd been about to say something when Alan cut him off. "I'm not bothered. You know what I like," I replied, still laughing at Scott.

Alan nodded and wandered off.

"How did he know I was going to say something? He had his back to me!" Scott said, looking down the corridor at the departing figure.

"Let me think. He's your brother and he's known you all his life. That's, what, about twenty-one years. I'd say that's enough time to figure out what you're like!" I paused and looked at him. "Either that or he's psychic!"

Scott laughed as Alan came back in with a tray of drinks.

* * *

About ten minutes later, the radio crackled to life. "Scott, Alan, you come and let me out right now!" an angry Gordon shouted.

"Good afternoon, Gordon. How are you?" Scott asked politely. He took hold of the mike and tried hard not to laugh.

"Scott, let me out!"

"Oh, Gordon, don't be so grumpy. You can get out, there's a key in there."

At the mention of a key, the connection went dead and Alan and Scott burst into laughter.

From where I was sat on the balcony, I watched the boat until Gordon reappeared on deck, which was about ten or fifteen minutes later. I watched him finally step out of the cabin and felt sorry for him. He looked very confused and was still dozy as he ran down the entry way and along the beach.

He ran up the steps and nearly tripped, as he wasn't going carefully.

Scott and Alan were doubled up and holding their sides when Gordon came into the lounge. He was breathing hard and his face was red, though whether that was due to the sprint or anger, I don't know.

"I suppose... you think... that's funny," he said, trying to get his breath back.

"We're sorry, we couldn't help ourselves!" Alan said. Stifling a laugh, he turned to hide a grin while wiping the tears from his eyes.


	9. The BR2

_Thanks for everyone who read the last chapter! Reviewers especially!_

_**loonytunecrazy**: I'm glad I could have been of assistance._

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

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Chapter 9: THE BR2

Brains had been in a closed off section of Thunderbird 2's hangar working on his project for days now. He wouldn't let anyone in, except me if I was bringing a meal. And even then, I had to leave the tray in the main hangar, not in his "workshop".

* * *

I was woken by a bleeping sound. Glancing round the dark room, I saw the light flashing on the intercom. I reached over to my bedside table and flicked on the lamp, blinking at the sudden brightness until my eyes adjusted, then looked at the clock; it wasn't even half three in the morning.

I crossed the room and sat down at my desk to answer the call. "Who is it?" I asked, looking longingly at my bed.

"I-I-It's me, Brains."

"What's wrong, Brains?" I looked back at the intercom, suddenly worried. Brains didn't usually call anyone in the middle of the night unless it was necessary.

"Oh, n-nothing's wrong. I-I-I just wondered if you'd, uh, come down here t-to take a look a-a-at something for me."

I stared at the intercom. "Brains," I yawned, "it's half past three in the morning. I need some sleep."

There was a silence at the other end of the line. "Gee, I-I-I'm sorry, Tin-Tin. I didn't, uh, realise just how late it, uh, was."

"It's alright Brains. I'll come down, but only if it doesn't take long or you may have me sleeping in the hangar."

"Thank you, Tin-Tin."

* * *

I walked down the corridor. I'd just been to the kitchen to get some coffee and was now walking through the darkness, clutching at the warm mug. I was worried I might walk into something because of how dark it was, but I didn't want to wake anyone, so the lights remained deactivated.

I reached the hangar and knocked the door. It hissed open and I walked in, nearly dropping the mug when I saw what was inside,

In front of me sat a shiny red racing car. "Is this what you wanted me to look at?" I asked, my fatigue suddenly seeming far away.

"Yeah. I-I-I couldn't wait until, uh, morning. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Brains." I looked at the vehicle. It was built close to the ground, with a thin silver trim along the doors and a tall fin on the back. "Why did you build it?"

"Well, uh, Mr Tracy wants to bring his mother out to the island a-a-and she lives very close to the Parola Sands Grand Pr-Prix circuit. I was thinking of, uh, asking Mr Tracy if Alan could get Mrs Tracy and try out my, uh, new engine a-a-at the same time."

It was a reasonable suggestion. Alan loved to drive, ever since I first knew him and longer. I couldn't see any objections coming from him. I turned back to Brains when I realised he didn't actually answer my question. "You still haven't told me why you built it."

"I-I-I dunno, I guess the idea just occurred to me."

'_Sounds about right for Brains.'_ "Alright, Brains. I'm going back to bed now, but we can talk to Mr Tracy about it in the morning."

* * *

"It's a great idea, Brains. Alan needs to get out more anyway."

We were stood in the lounge. Brains had just told Mr Tracy about his idea, but had yet to show him the finished article. At that time, I was the only person who'd seen it.

"Oh, good. I-I-I guess I'd better show you the, ah, vehicle."

Brains led us to his cordoned off area and opened the door.

"Wow! You built this entire car?" Mr Tracy asked, staring at the red machine in front of him.

"Yeah. So you really think it's a good idea?"

"It's brilliant. Mother's been talking me in every single letter that she's wanted to come and join us, ever since we first started operations. Heck, ever since I told her about my plans."

"Well," I said, running a hand along the car's bonnet, "the race is in a month's time. If you want to enter her, I suggest you send away an application now." I looked at it again. "Have you given it a name or title or anything?"

"I thought I'd call it the, uh, BR2."

* * *

That afternoon, we looked for Alan to tell him about his upcoming reappearance in the racing world.

We tried everywhere, but couldn't find him.

I walked into the lounge to see Mr Tracy and Brains. "Any luck?" Mr Tracy asked.

"No. I've tried everywhere, even the guest rooms, he's just not there," I responded. "We're on an island; there are only so many places he can be."

Just then, Scott walked in carrying a sandwich. "Hello, folks." He looked round at us and picked up his sandwich from the plate. "What's up?" he asked, taking a bite.

"We can't find Alan. Have you seen him?" Mr Tracy said. Scott shook his head and swallowed. "Nope. Haven't seen him all day. Why? What's he done now?"

"Oh, Scott, stop trying to stir up trouble. We just want to tell him something." Mr Tracy turned to Brains. "Where did you look?"

"I-I-I went to the, uh, library, the shooting range, the lab, uh, the workshop and the, uh, kitchen. Oh, uh, and the computer room."

"What about you, Tin-Tin?"

"His room, the guest rooms, the music room, the games room and the cinema."

"And I've looked in the basement, the hangar bays and by the pool."

"That just leaves outside the villa," Scott said, switching on the TV and taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Right. Brains, can you check some of the rooms again? I'll go and have a look along the beach. Tin-Tin, you go and ask the others if they've seen him." He turned to the door, then stopped and took something from a drawer in his desk. "Oh, Tin-Tin. I think you might need one of these. It's high time you had one. I should've given it to you sooner." He threw the small object at me, which I caught. It was a watch. "It's your wristwatch telecom. If you find anything out, contact me." He left the villa and headed down the steps to the patio.

"Wow. That must mean you're a full member of International Rescue now," Scott said, flicking through the channels as he put his empty plate on the desk.

"Yeah," I said, absently. I put the leather strap round my wrist and fastened it. '_A full member of International Rescue.'_ I left Scott lazing about in the lounge to look for the others.

* * *

We'd already checked with Scott, and I checked with Gordon and father; neither of them knew anything. John was up in the space station, so the only person left to ask now was Virgil. I found him in the music room, playing with a guitar.

"What you playing?" I asked, as I walked in.

"Nothing that can't wait to be finished," he said, putting down the instrument. "What's up, honey?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for Alan."

"Why? What's he done this time?"

"Nothing. D'you know, that's near enough the exact same thing Gordon and Scott said when we told them we're looking for him."

"OK, OK, take it easy. I did see him this morning. He said he was gonna go rock climbing today."

"He did? Strange, he usually tells someone."

"He told me," Virgil said, defensively.

"Well, why didn't you tell us?"

"I dunno. I guess I got carried away in here. The last few weeks have been really slow and it's boring. You can't blame me for forgetting things."

"So, who do I blame for you forgetting things?" I asked, grinning.

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. "You win this round," he said, returning the smile.

"Hmm, let's see, that's about four-nil, isn't it?"

"Get outta here," he said, laughing.

"OK, OK. I'd better contact you father and let him know I have a, uhm, lead." I pressed the button to the side of the dial. "This is Tin-Tin Kyrano calling Jeff Tracy, Tin-Tin Kyrano to Jeff Tracy." The dial changed to reveal Mr Tracy's face.

"_What's up, Tin-Tin?_"

"Nothing, Mr Tracy. I know where Alan is, though."

"_You do? Where?_"

"Virgil says Alan told him he was going climbing."

"_When was this?_"

"Just now."

"_No, I mean, when did Alan tell Virgil?_"

"This morning." I glanced at Virgil who looked away.

"_Is he there with you now? Virgil, that is._"

"Yes, he can hear you."

"_Why didn't you tell someone?_"

I looked at Virgil who rolled his eyes and looked at me. "It's not fair!" he whispered.

* * *

When we'd finally figured out which hill Alan was climbing, he was nearly back at the bottom.

Mr Tracy, brains and I were waiting at the foot of the hill.

"What's with the welcoming committee?" he said, jumping the last couple of feet. "I haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

I laughed to myself and stepped forward to help him get his harness off.

"Of course not, son. Why would you think that?"

"I dunno," he said, shrugging.

"Anyway. We've got a proposition for you. But I doubt if you'll like it."

"What?" he asked, taking off his climbing helmet.

"No, you won't like it. Shouldn't have troubled you about it." Mr Tracy glanced at me and I smiled. I looked away and pretended to admire a flower when Alan turned round.

"What? You can't tell me half a story then not the other half, come on!"

Mr Tracy and Brains exchanged glances. "Should we tell him?"

"I-I-I don't know, Mr Tracy. It's you decision, but he-he may not like it."

"Just tell me, please."

"Alright. How do you fancy going to collect Grandma?"

"Is that all?" He looked at me, then back at his father. "Sure, I guess." He sounded disappointed.

"Not interesting enough, huh? I suppose that means you don't want to participate in the 2065 Parola Sands Grand Prix either."

"What?!"

"No, it's OK. I'll send one of the others."

"No, no. I'll do it, I'll do it!"

Mr Tracy smiled. "Brains, show Alan the BR2."


	10. Parola Sands

_Welcome to chapter 10! Here begins another episode chapter. Thanks be to the blessed readers and reviewers!_

_**Ms Hobgoblin**: I did enjoy writing this one. It was fun. As for the other comments, my usual reply stands. Read on and find out:-)_

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

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Chapter 10: PAROLA SANDS

A month later, we were in Thunderbird 2, cruising over the ocean toward the west coast of the United States. It was very peaceful: until Virgil broke the silence.

"We're nearly there," he said, turning his head slightly, but not taking his eyes from the view ahead of him. He was sat in the pilot's seat wearing his blue uniform.

I'd been studying a map of the area to try and help Alan find the circuit from the landing point. "I found it, Alan. When you reach the highway you turn left, and then you come to the racetrack on your right."

"And you meet Kenny Malone there?" Virgil said.

"Yep, that's right," Alan replied. He had a wide smile on his face, which he'd been unable to remove since we'd told him about his excursion. "Boy, that guy's a great mechanic. Wait'll he sees what we've got tucked up in the pod." He looked at me, then Virgil. "Pity you two can't come to the Sands with me, though."

"Alan, you know we can't," Virgil replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Supposing father received a distress call while we were gone. Anyway, we'll be watching the telecast."

"I guess I'm lucky getting leave like this."

"Well, it's not a pleasure trip altogether, you know," I said. "Brains'll want to know how his new engine works under prolonged stress."

"Right," Virgil said, his voice returning to its normal official-sounding tone. "Stand by, Alan. I'm just about to take her down."

The massive craft started to lower to the ground below and Alan left for the pod.

I got up and stood next to Virgil so I could see through the cockpit windows.

Virgil pulled the lever next to him and I heard the whine of the pod door being lowered.

"Don't forget," I said into the radio, "we'll be watching you. And give my love to Grandma."

"_OK, Tin-Tin. Will do,_" came his reply over the comm.

I looked out the windows and saw the red car pause at the edge of the road before blazing away in a cloud of dust.

I handed the radio to Virgil and rested my hands on his arm and shoulder.

"Alan Tracy from Thunderbird 2. Calling Alan Tracy from Thunderbird 2. Come in, Alan."

"_Thunderbird 2 from Alan Tracy, loud and clear._"

"Well, kiddo. What's the first impressions like?"

"_The first impressions are great. Tell Brains he's done it again; she's a beaut!_"

"Oh, fine," Virgil said, glancing at the small figure of the rapidly departing BR2 in the distance. "Take it easy, though, Alan. You don't want to get any tickets for speeding."

"_No. I guess not,_" he replied laughing. "_Boy, I can't wait to try her out tomorrow at the Sands._"

We watched until the car was completely out of sight, then Virgil raised the pod door and lowered the craft back into position.

"Well, Tin-Tin," he said, sighing. "That's our mission completed. We'd better get back to Base."

"Yes, Virgil," I replied, staring at the point I'd last seen the vehicle. "I just wish I was going with him." Virgil turned to look at me. "Well, uh, to keep him company, you know," I said, quickly, looking at him.

He turned away and started playing with the controls. "Yeah, I know." He started the motors and we headed back home.

* * *

The next day, we were watching the race. It was exciting seeing someone I knew on television, especially seeing as he was winning.

We were all in the lounge; Mr Tracy was sat at his desk and I was stood beside him, Scott was stood next to the desk and in front of the television, without being in the way of Gordon and Virgil who were sat on the chairs on the side of the desk.

We hadn't moved since the race started. It had been close all the way through between Alan and the person called Gomez. (Alan had called us last night to tell us a bit about the race.) Finally, Alan prevailed and won. We watched as Alan climbed the podium and collected the trophy.

"Look, here's Alan, now," I said, noting that he didn't seem as happy about winning as he used to.


	11. Move And You're Dead!

_Welcome to the latest chapter! So glad to see people are still enjoying this story. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ;-) As always thanks to everyone who read it and all those who took the time to review too._

_**loonytunecrazy**: Why thank you! Much appreciated._

_

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 11: MOVE – AND YOU'RE DEAD

The next morning, I walked into the lounge to find Mr Tracy holding onto the mike.

"F.A.B.," he said, cutting the link. "Oh, hi, Tin-Tin. That was Alan. He's just met up with Grandma and they're about to leave for the rendezvous."

I nodded and went to sit on the balcony. It was a lovely day, with not a cloud in the sky. Mr Tracy sat down next to me.

"Is something bothering you, Tin-Tin?"

"No, not really. I've just got a funny feeling that something's going to go wrong."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Anyway, it's just a feeling." I got up and went out to the kitchen to get a drink.

* * *

When I came back in, about ten minutes later, Mr Tracy had a map on the desk and a worried expression on his face. 

"Something has gone wrong, hasn't it, Mr Tracy?"

He looked up and nodded slowly. "I'm afraid so. It seems that Alan's opponent in the race, Gomez, is a sore loser. Alan and Grandma are trapped on a bridge and there's a bomb on it somewhere. I've just sent Scott, Virgil and Brains on their way."

I walked closer to the desk. "Where?"

He tapped the map. "The bridge of San Miguel. That's where they are."

"Oh, it's a lonely spot Mr Tracy."

"Yeah. The bridge won't be open to the public for two months yet. They certainly knew what they were doing when they planned this."

"And the bomb. It's due to go off – when?"

"Sometime around thirteen hundred hours according to Alan. But that's only part of it; they've left behind them an ultra-sonic generator, which can detonate the bomb earlier if anything on the bridge moves. Now, you'd better pass this information to Scott and Virgil while I work out a plan of action."

"Yes, Mr Tracy. Do you think they can hold out?"

"I hope so. But the noonday sun can be pretty savage in those parts."

* * *

A short while later, after being contacted by Virgil, Scott radioed in. 

"_Flight to rescue zone proceeding according to plan, father. How are they?_" he asked, the worry in his voice coming through over the radio as clear as crystal.

"I'm just going to contact them to find out." He pressed a button and Alan's eyes flashed. "Calling San Miguel. How's it going, boy?"

I looked at the monitor. He looked drained and dehydrated. "_Not so good. Grandma's passed out with the heat, I'm afraid._"

"Passed out?" Mr Tracy repeated, alarmed.

"_She'll be OK, she can't fall._" He paused and swayed a little. "_I'm the one that's likely to spoil the show. I've only got to relax for a moment and down I go._"

"Listen to me, Alan!" Mr Tracy said, urgently. "You've got to stay with it. Don't let yourself go!"

"_Can't seem to concentrate, oh, whew. Sure is hot._"

"Alan, please," I pleaded. I didn't want to lose him, but I was afraid I might. "Listen to your father. Whatever happens, you mustn't lose your concentration."

"Listen to me, Alan. Can you hear me?" He didn't answer, but closed his eyes and swayed slightly. "Alan, can you hear me?" Mr Tracy pressed, more urgently then before.

Alan opened his eyes. "_Yes._" His reply was barely audible.

"Then concentrate on what I'm going to say. You've got to keep talking 'til Scott and Virgil get there. Do you hear me?"

"_Keep talking. Yeah,_" he replied, slowly.

"I want you to tell me exactly how you got into this fix. I want you to start at the beginning and tell me the whole story. Is that clear?"

"_Tell the... whole story. Yeah. Got to keep on talking._"

"That's it, son. Now, go ahead. Tin-Tin and I want to hear the whole story."

"_OK. OK, then._"

He started by telling us about the journey out to Parola Sands. I already knew this part but I was so afraid for Alan, I listened without saying a word. He went on to tell us about his meeting with the mechanic, Kenny Malone and the encounter with Gomez and his partner, Gillespie before the race. He described his feelings through the race and how Gomez had tried to force him off the road on a section of the circuit out of shot of the cameras.

* * *

Mr Tracy was getting more and more worried for his youngest son; I could see it in everything he did and hear it in everything he said. He contacted Scott. "Keep up maximum speed, Scott, Alan's in a bad way." 

"_Will do._"

"Alan, you're doing great. Now, carry on with your story. What did you do next?" Mr Tracy asked. Alan didn't respond. "Alan, answer me!"

Still no response. I was starting to panic now. "Alan!" I turned round. "Mr Tracy! He doesn't answer!"

"Alan! Alan, listen to me! Alan, you've got to keep on talking. The boys are well on their way now, so keep it up. What happened then? What happened after the race?"

"_A-After the race, yeah. I remember._"

He told us how he and Kenny took the car back to the stacker. He got Kenny to stack it, while he called Grandma. He went on to tell us how Gomez and Gillespie knocked out the car park attendant before taking control of the stacker and tried to knock a car onto the telecall booth. When the car came crashing down, Alan had already finished his call and left.

"Alright, Alan, keep going," Mr Tracy said, encouragingly. "What did you do after the race?"

"_Gee, this heat. I don't think I can._"

"Alan! What did you do next? We're waiting! Where did you go then?"

"_Well, I – I set out to collect Grandma._"

He swayed slightly and blinked slowly as he told us about a short conversation he'd had with Grandma before leaving. He told us that he came to a fork in the road and that the left hand road was closed off, that he'd driven down the right hand road and was stopped by an armed Gomez. He tried to get his gun from the glove compartment, but Gillespie fired a shot, stopping him. After hearing they'd switched the road signs, Gillespie threatened to kill Grandma if he didn't do as they said.

He started swaying again.

"Come on, Alan, you're doing great. Don't give up, not now." He looked at his son on the monitor. "So they got you on the bridge. What happened then?"

"_Oh. How are the boys doing? Don't think I can hold up much longer._"

"Look, Alan. I'll put Scott through to you and now you can hear for yourself." He flipped a switch and after a brief pause I heard Scott's voice.

"_Alan, this is Scott in Thunderbird 1. Now, we're not far away, boy, so just keep your ears open for the sound of our jets. Crossing the Pacific coast... now._"

Mr Tracy turned back to the monitor. "Now, carry on, Alan. You were all at the bridge. What happened then?"

"_What happened then?_" Alan repeated, slowly, as if processing the question to determine its meaning. "_Oh, yeah. I remember._"

He continued his story by telling us how they wanted the plans for the BR2 and when he refused to tell them anything, they sent him and Grandma onto the girder above with the sonic-generator, then told him about the bomb on the bridge and drove off in the BR2. The rest we already knew.

* * *

"Not long, Alan. Just hang on. Scott should be with you any minute now," Mr Tracy said, pleading with his son in a way that would've sounded like a simple comment to those who didn't know him. 

A couple of minutes later, we heard Scott over the radio. "_OK, father, I've landed at the rescue zone._"

"Good. What are the chances, Scott?"

"_Well, it's a tricky one, father. Tell Virgil to land on slope P701. I'm gonna contact Alan._"

Mr Tracy forwarded the message to Virgil but left the radio on open communication so we could still hear Scott and Alan.

"_Alan! Alan can you hear me?_"

"_Gotta keep awake. Gotta keep..._"

"_He's delirious,_" Scott mumbled, more to himself than anyone in particular. He spoke up. "_Alan, raise your left arm and look at me._" He waited until his brother complied before continuing. "_Alan, listen to what I have to say. Now, how localised are the ultra-sonic waves of the generator?_"

Alan's repeated instructions to himself changed to a warning. "_No! No! Keep away. Mustn't come near. Detonate the bomb._"

"_Alan!_" Scott interrupted. "_The generator; how powerful is it? Do you know?_"

"_Keep away!_" Alan repeated. "_Just one move – and the whole place goes up._"

"_Ah, it's no use,_" Scott said.

I could suddenly feel tears rolling down my cheeks. '_Come on, Alan. You've got to stay with it.'_

"_Can't... go on much longer. Can't feel my legs anymore. Can't keep up much longer._"

"Please, hold on, Alan. Please!" I pleaded. '_Don't leave me, Alan. I need you.'_

"Two more minutes, Alan. That's all we need. Virgil is nearly there, remember the code of International Rescue; not to give up at any cost."

* * *

Thunderbird 2 landed on the specified slope as Alan continued muttering to us. "_Can't take any more._" 

"One minute more, Alan," Mr Tracy said. "One minute more. Brains is gonna neutralise the generator. They don't have time to look for the bomb itself. Just hold on, Alan, you're gonna be OK."

A couple of minutes later, Brains' voice came over the radio. "_Neutralising... now._" The neutralising didn't take more than a minute but it seemed like forever. _Come on, Brains, come on,_ I pleaded silently.

"_Generator neutralised. OK, Virgil._"

* * *

"_Base from Thunderbird 2; leaving danger zone. Mission successfully completed,_" Virgil's voice came over the radio sending the best news I'd had all day. 

"They did it! They did it!" I nearly screamed, hugging Mr Tracy.

A while later, Scott returned in Thunderbird 1.

He walked into the lounge and sat down wearily. "The BR2's gone. After Gomez and Gillespie stole it, they drove off. I tried to stop them, but one of them didn't want to stop while the other did. They had an argument over the wheel, crashed through a barrier and went over the cliff."

I heard a noise and rushed to the balcony. I was more than pleased to see Thunderbird 2 come in to land.

Virgil came into the lounge helping his grandmother and Brains helping Alan.

I ran over to him and hugged him like I hadn't seen him for years. I cried on his shoulder as he held me close. Leaning back, I looked at him. "Don't you ever do that to me again. You're not leaving the island alone unless you're going to the satellite, OK?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, laughing. I laughed, too, then hugged him again. "Thank you for coming back to me," I whispered in his ear.

* * *

The next day, Alan, Virgil and I were in the lounge. 

Virgil was painting a picture of Alan in his racing suit and holding his trophy, using the equipment he'd received for his birthday.

He leaned round the side of his easel, holding up his pallet. "Alan! Don't move! Whatever you do, don't move!"

"Look, Virgil, how much longer you gonna be?" Alan asked, grumpily. "I'm tired of having to stand dead still like this."

"Now, how do you expect me to get a good likeness if you don't keep still?" Virgil insisted.

"And smile!" I added, looking at his scowl. "You can't go down in the annuls of motor-racing history with an expression like that."

"And another thing," Alan complained. "This trophy's darned heavy."

"Well," Scott said, entering the room. "How's the masterpiece coming along?"

"Well, don't ask me; Virgil won't let me see it yet."

I watched Scott cross the room. He stopped next to Virgil and turned to look at the side of the easel Virgil wouldn't let me look at.

"Hey, Virgil. That's great!" Scott commented, looking between the easel and his moody brother. "You've really caught a likeness."

"Yep, it's, uh, it's nearly finished," Virgil said, continually dabbing the canvas with his brush.

"Well, hurry it up, Virgil. I had to stand still long enough on that bridge."

"Right, finished," Virgil said, triumphantly, pressing a button on the side of the easel to set it rotating to our angle.

As it finished moving, I covered my mouth with a hand. The picture _was_ of Alan and he _was_ holding his trophy, but the picture had been painted in abstract. Alan stared and lowered his trophy in dismay.

"Well, what do you think of it, Alan?" Virgil asked, sincerely.

"Hmph. I suppose you guys think this is funny."

"Well, not at all," Scott said, as Virgil glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I think it's very good, Virge."

"Yeah, except that the technique is about a hundred years out of date," Alan said, bitterly, walking up to the easel.

"Oh, but you must admit that it's – it's really you, Alan," Virgil said.

"Yeah," Scott added, and they both started laughing.

I noticed Alan glance discreetly at the floor, then walk over to the desk. I looked at where Scott and Virgil were stood laughing, and giggled quietly.

"Right! Laugh this one off!" Alan pressed a button on the desk and Scott and Virgil suddenly disappeared into the floor.

"Hey, cut that out!" Scott called, his voice echoing.

"Hey, quit messing around with those buttons!" Virgil shouted, his voice faint and far away. They'd been stood on the area of floor surrounding the Thunderbird 3 entry sofa!

As I got up, Alan turned to me. "How do you like that, Tin-Tin?"

"Never mind, Alan. Who needs a painting? Especially when you've got the real thing!"

He glanced at me and blushed.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hope you enjoyed this story. I'd just like to take this moment to wish my brother a happy 21st birthday, even though he's so unlikely to read these stories at all. I'd still like it known. Happy Birthday Mike!_


	12. Sun Probe

_Welcome to yet another chapter of this story! Only two more chapters after this one. I would like to thank all the readers of this story for taking it over the 1000 hit mark! Thank you so much!_

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New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 12: SUN PROBE

That afternoon, Alan and I were in the pool, just swimming about. The sky was pure blue, with no hint of clouds.

We'd left Scott and Virgil in the hangar bay shouting; no doubt someone would eventually bring them back up, but until then, everything on the island would be peaceful.

"ALAN!" Scott shouted from the villa.

'_Spoke too soon!'_ Alan and I exchanged glances then swam to the other side of the pool, got out and hid behind some rocks.

Scott and Virgil ran down the stairs. "They've changed into their swimming gear," I noted, as they stopped at the bottom and looked around.

"Yeah, I know," Alan whispered in response, pulling me down as they looked in our direction. We peered back over the rocks to see them stood in front of us, but facing the other way, a few steps away from the pool.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Alan whispered, grinning.

I nodded. We snuck forward until we were just behind them. "Fancy a swim?" I said suddenly, making them jump and spin round. As soon as they were facing us completely, we gave them a push and they landed in the pool.

They surfaced, spluttering and exchanged bewildered glances as Alan and I jumped in next to them.

We splashed about for a while, when suddenly, a voice called us from the side of the pool. We turned to see Gordon stood about a foot from the pool. He was leaning on a rock, with his hand hidden behind it.

"Hey, look what I've got!" he shouted, then pulled his massive water gun from its hiding place behind the rock. He sprayed it at us before jumping in, too.

A short while later, while we were still having a splash fight, Mr Tracy came down the steps and stood at the other end of the pool. I noticed he was stood there, but I was having too much fun to take notice of him.

He sighed and walked closer to us. I grinned; an expression the boys returned. It's amazing how after living with them for such a short time, I could anticipate what they'd do or think in certain situations.

I looked over at Mr Tracy; he was saying something.

"I'm sorry, Mr Tracy, we can't hear you!" I shouted.

He stepped forward a little and shouted "Dinner's nearly ready. Can you lot stop..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence before being splashed by the five of us. He looked down at us and laughed. "I see you've got Tin-Tin well trained. There are more than two of you in the pool, I've tried to tell you something and now I'm wet!" He laughed. "Come on, out. Now. Dinner's nearly ready and I want nice, dry boys and girls at my table!"

We laughed and climbed out of the pool, one by one.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, I was sat in the lounge watching the television with Mr Tracy, Alan and Scott.

We were watching the programme about the Sun Probe. They were showing the launch of the Sun Probe rocket again that had been filmed a week previously.

"You know," Mr Tracy stated, "a rocket launching never fails to give me a kick." He was sat at his normal post behind his desk.

"Especially that one, father," Scott said, "Just think; a rocket to the Sun."

"Hold it a minute," Alan cut in, holding up a hand.

We looked back at the television as the presenter started speaking again. "That film, folks, taken a week ago, showed the launching of the Sun Probe. Within the next hour, we hope to bring you live pictures direct from Sun Probe itself showing the completion of this daring and important project. We also hope to bring you shots of the rocket in space via our latest tele-radio cameras. As you all know, the object of the mission is to capture a few fragments of matter released by the Sun. With me in the studio is Professor Heinz Bodman who is going to explain just how the Sun Probe mission will operate."

"Good evening," the professor said.

"Say, where's Brains? Doesn't he wanna hear all this?" Mr Tracy stated as the professor started pointing at diagrams.

From where he was stood beside him, Scott responded. "Oh, this is old stuff to him, father. He's in his workshop playing around with his latest invention." He looked at the screen then said; "I'll go see if he wants to watch, though."

I turned in my seat to watch Scott leave and noticed Alan out of the corner of my eye fidgeting. I turned further so I could see him properly. He was stood beside me and still fidgeting. "Alan, stand still; that's very distracting."

Scott came back in and shrugged. "Thought I'd better leave him to it. That robot of his is starting to bug him a bit."

I turned back to the television.

"The solarnauts will release of radiation-sealed refrigerated probe. The probe will then fly through a prominence. Automatically, it will collect particles of matter from the flare. And so, we will have a piece of the Sun."

"Thank you, professor," the presenter said as his face reappeared on the screen. "This then is the plan. A dangerous mission, yes, but all foreseeable protective measures guard the solarnauts against the Sun's immense heat and radiation. Twenty foot thick protective walls surround these three brave men in the cramped cabin of the solar module."

About ten minutes later, Mr Tracy turned from the television. "They'll be going into orbit soon. Surely, Brains won't wanna miss this." With that he got up and left.

I could hear him talking to Brains in the library but I couldn't hear what they were saying, so I returned my attention to the television.

* * *

When Mr Tracy returned, the presenter announced; "Well, folks, the Sun Probe has been fired. We will give you all the details as they are received from the spaceship. The tension here in the studio mounts as we await further news."

We watched as the probe flew through the prominence and headed back to the main ship.

"We have just heard that the probe has collected the matter from a prominence," the presenter stated, "it is now on its way to rendezvous with the main ship. The solarnauts are in excellent condition." He paused as he was handed a piece of paper. "Wait, the probe is being collected now. Just look at this tele-radio picture."

We watched the probe being collected; it connected to the rest of the ship with a clunk.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Brains appear in the doorway.

"Well, they pulled it off," Mr Tracy stated after the probe had been collected, "I've gotta hand it to them; they're great."

"I don't think they're gonna make it," Brains said quietly from where he was stood.

We all turned to face him. "What's that?" Mr Tracy asked surprised.

"I said, 'I-I-I-I don't think they're gonna make it'," he repeated.

"But everything's going fine," Mr Tracy said, then turned back as the presenter spoke.

"Hold it, folks. Something's gone wrong. In picking up the probe, the main ship has lost its course. The tracking stations report that the spaceship is heading on a collision course with the Sun! Stay tuned to this channel for minute-to-minute information."

* * *

We all turned back to look at Brains as he took up a standing position behind the sofa Scott was sat on.

"What went wrong, Brains?" Mr Tracy asked. He was perched on the front edge of his desk now, with Gordon, who'd only just come in, stood beside him.

"Well, er, in collecting the Sun Probe, the solarship had to steer on a collision course with the Sun," he replied.

"Sure, but wasn't that part of the plan?" Alan asked. I was kneeling on the edge of the smaller sofa and he was sat in front of me. Since the incident at Parola Sands, I stayed nearer to him than before.

"Yeah, yeah it was, but – I suddenly figured that the radiation level at that distance from the Sun could interfere with the ships control systems."

"So the solarnauts can't fire the retros and break away," Mr Tracy said.

"Right. Now, as a safeguard, the Solar Control Centre, on Earth, can send a radio beam to fire the ship's motors by remote control," Brains stated.

"Then why don't they do it?" Scott asked sounding almost annoyed. Virgil, who was stood behind Scott, looked at Brains for his answer.

"They're probably trying that right now. But, I have severe doubts whether their beam will penetrate the radiation either."

"Please stand by for a news flash." We all turned back to the television screen. "We are going over to Colonel Benson at the Solar Control Centre for an important announcement."

The view on the screen, which had been the launch site, changed to the solemn face of Colonel Benson.

"All efforts to alter the spaceship's course by firing their retros by radio beam from Earth have failed. Now, I have a vital request to make: If International Rescue are watching, would they please communicate with Solar Control Centre, Cape Kennedy?" As the colonel continued, Brains got up and left. "I repeat, this is vital, International Rescue, we need your help!"

Mr Tracy interrupted our thoughts as he announced: "Get me Cape Kennedy!"

"Yes, sir," I said, getting up to move to the videophone.

* * *

I was in the lounge with Mr Tracy as he spoke with the colonel. The videophone was on the sound only selection, so the colonel couldn't see our faces.

"Very well, Colonel Benson," Mr Tracy concluded, "We'll attempt a rescue, but this is a tough one."

"You can say that again," the colonel replied. "Anyway, good luck."

A long, loud beep signalled the termination of the connection.

* * *

That evening, we were in the library. Mr Tracy was stood behind a table covered with pieces of paper. He was leaning on it with spread hands. Brains was seated on his left and Scott on his right. Virgil and Gordon were sat on a settee opposite the chair Alan and I were sharing.

We'd been sat there since late afternoon, but we had made little progress.

"Right, let's go over it once again," Mr Tracy said. "The Sun Probe rocket is headed straight for the Sun and unless we can fire the retros to make the rocket turn round, those three solarnauts are doomed." He turned to Brains.

"Well, uh, Mr Tracy, the only solution is for us to fire the retros by radio beam."

"Well, the radio complex in Thunderbird," Scott said, pausing to consider, "3 would seem the obvious choice," Scott said.

"But, Scott," Virgil argued, "the transmission range of Thunderbird 3 isn't powerful enough. I think Thunderbird 2 transmitter would stand a much better chance."

"Well, that would apply if both craft were at ground level," Scott responded.

"Agreed," Alan put in. "But we could take Thunderbird 3 into space and get through much more effectively."

"What's your opinion, Brains?" Mr Tracy asked, attempting to stop the conversation that seemed to only include the oldest, middle and youngest brothers.

"Well, Mr Tracy. I think we may be underestimating the heat and radiation resistances of our, er, space craft. But the transmission potential of Thunderbird 2 could certainly be tremendous."

I'd been listening quietly until now, but I decided to speak up at this point. "Well, we've got to make up our minds soon. The whole world is waiting for International Rescue to act, and after three hours, we're no nearer a decision."

"Let's face it," Gordon suddenly said. "Both Thunderbird craft have an equal chance of success or failure. Why don't we gamble on one or other of them paying off?"

"Right!" Mr Tracy said, looking at him. "Gordon has hit the nail on the head! We'll launch a two-pronged rescue attempt. First of all, we've got to get Thunderbird 3 launched as soon as possible. When do you think that could be, Brains?"

"Well, the radio equipment will have to be modified, but I should think launching can take place soon after sun up."

"Right. Go and organise that now, Brains."

"Yes, Mr Tracy, I'm on my way," Brains said, scraping his chair on the floor as he got up to leave.

Mr Tracy turned, his grey eyes searching the room. "Virgil, you'd better go to the computer room and work out what point is best for Thunderbird 2 to project a safety beam towards the Sun Probe. Get Grandma to organise some auxiliary clothing."

"OK, father," Virgil said, getting up to leave.

"Father," Alan said, "we'll need an extra crew member to operate the safety beam."

"Alright, Alan," he replied, "you'd better take Tin-Tin along with you. Launching takes place at oh-eight hundred hours."

* * *

I didn't sleep much that night. I was both excited and worried.

I was excited because it was my first mission, but worried about the three solarnauts.

I tried everything to get to sleep: even counting sheep! I think the only thing I didn't do, which I would have done normally, was go and sit on the balcony. Somehow the salty air and sounds of the ocean seemed to help. I decided not to, though, because I didn't want to disturb anyone, as we all had a big day ahead of us.

After another hour of unsuccessful attempts at sleeping, I could no longer help myself. I went over to my wardrobe, pulled out my dressing gown and put it and my slippers on.

I quietly crossed my room, eased open the door and headed out to the lounge.

To my surprise, I found Mr Tracy there. He was fast asleep on a chair just inside the balcony doors. I walked over to him. He was sleeping so soundly.

Then, I heard something that sounded like a piece of cutlery hitting the floor. Someone else was up.

I silently made my way to where the noise came from: the kitchen, only to find Scott rummaging round in the cupboards. "Lost something?"

He spun round. "What are you doing up?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I can't sleep either. I was going sit on the balcony; that always seems to help, but your father's there so I..."

"Father's on the balcony?"

"Yes, but..."

He suddenly took off towards the lounge, with me running to keep up. We reached our destination and he saw Mr Tracy sat on his chair on the balcony. I stood in the doorway as Scott walked across the lounge and crouched beside him. He looked at him and looked around. The doors were open, letting in the cool, night breeze.

"Grab a blanket, would you?" As Scott pulled the doors shut, I walked across the room to find a blanket, whichI wrapped the blanket round Mr Tracy. Then I stepped back as Scott gently leaned his father forward to put a pillow behind him.

"Come on, we'd better get back to bed," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.


	13. My First Mission

_New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends_

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 13: MY FIRST MISSION

The next morning, I was in the lounge with the others, sat on the couch with Alan on my right and Scott on my left. We were waiting for Mr Tracy to give us the go-ahead to leave.

"Right," he said from his seat behind his desk, "we're ready. You know what to do?"

"Yes, father," Scott said, sounding and looking nervous.

"Let's hope it works from that distance," Alan said.

"It's got to," his father replied. "It's as close as you dare go. Good luck, all of you." He turned to me. "Your first mission, Tin-Tin. Make it a successful one."

"I'll do my best, Mr Tracy."

Mr Tracy pressed a button and the sofa started to lower into the darkness below. I looked up to see Virgil looking down into the tunnel, then his face was gone as the replacement settee rose into position.

We continued our journey below the villa, and my mind wandered back to when I first did this trip with Alan and my father before I went back to Europe.

The couch rose into the lounge in Thunderbird 3, and our mission had started.

* * *

"Take up launch positions," Alan stated as he got up.

"F.A.B.," Scott said.

We took up our positions as Alan entered the lift taking him up to the cockpit.

"_Stand-by for blast-off,_" I heard Alan say over the comm.-link, "_Lift-off._"

A couple of minutes later, he spoke again. "_Blast-off: A-OK. Leaving Earth's atmosphere in 10 seconds._"

"OK, Alan, I'm coming up," Scott called into the comm. "See you later, Tin-Tin," he said as he got up.

"Yes, Scott," I said, unclipping my safety belt.

* * *

A short while later, about the same time Scott arrived in the cockpit, I heard Alan's voice over the comm. again. "_OK, Scott. We're clear of Earth's atmosphere. Tin-Tin, you'd better get the electronics side lined up. We'll be in the danger zone in about sixty-five hours._"

"Yes, Alan, I've already started."

* * *

After two nights of disturbed sleep and the same conversations, we neared our target. Or so we thought.

I was listening to a conversation between Alan and Scott over the comm., but Alan suddenly changed the subject. "_I'd better contact them, I guess._" After a short pause, he addressed the solarnauts. "_Solar module from International Rescue, do you read me?_" I listened, but no reply came, so he tried again. "_Come in, solar module, this is International Rescue._" That time we got a response.

"_Solar module to Thunderbird 3 – where are you? Can you help us?_"

"_We hope so,_" Alan responded, "_We're going to try to fire your retros from space._"

"We're two hours away from calculated release area, Scott," I said.

"_Check,_" he replied. "_But the cabin temperature is increasing rapidly. We can't go much closer to them._"

"_Why not try it now?_" Alan suggested.

"_OK. But at least then we'll know how short we are of success,_" Scott said.

"I heard that," I called out. "Operating safety beam... now."

I flipped the switch and a loud hum started as the safety beam was projected toward the probe.

"_Negative. We're four hours short,_" Scott stated.

"_Four hours?_" Alan cried, the surprise in his voice obviously recognised. "_But that means we'll have to go much closer to the sun than was estimated._"

"_It looks like it._"

"Can we stand the increased heat and radiation?" I asked.

"_On paper, no,_" Alan said. "_But we can't just abandon those three guys. We sure have a problem._"

* * *

Alan radioed base to advise his father of the problem facing us.

"_We are more than four hours short of our target, which is two hours more than we calculated,_" he reported.

"_Alright, Alan. Listen to me. Do what you can. That's all you can do. Virgil and Brains have reached the Themalayan Mountains and are about to touch down just under the summit of Mount Arkan. They may have better luck._"

"_I guess so, father._"

* * *

Two hours later, we reached our first destination.

"_We're at the first estimated region, Tin-Tin,_" Alan called over the comm. "_Just give the word, and we'll put you in a release capsule and get you to safety._"

"We have been over the whole question, Alan. Any delay increases the danger to the solarnauts. I will go with you."

"_Good girl. OK, let's try the safety beam again._"

"Yes, Alan. Here goes."

I flipped the switch up again, and heard the whine of the motors powering the beam.

"_That's what I was afraid of,_" I heard Scott say, "_Another two hours before we're in range._"

"_Alright, another two hours it is,_" Alan said, "_Let's hope we can all stand up to the heat!_"

* * *

Another two hours later, we were in range. It was extremely hot and I felt very drowsy.

"_We daren't go much closer. The hull won't stand much more,_" I could barely hear Alan's voice as I was concentrating on trying to stay conscious. "_Try the signal again, Tin-Tin._" When he didn't hear my reply, he asked again. "_Tin-Tin, try the signal again._"

"Yes. Try the... signal... again." I was on the verge of passing out, but I managed to slowly flip the switch a third time.

"_It's still short,_" Alan said. I could hear the strain in his voice. He was having trouble, too. "_Can't you increase the power, Tin-Tin?_"

"I can overrun the system up to... about point five."

"_Then do that, will you. We just can't go any closer._"

I flipped the other switch and heard the increase in the power to the beam. Hearing the whine change, I knew the beam had hit its target, but I don't remember anything else after that, I suppose I passed out.

* * *

I woke up and saw two people stood over me. I blinked until my blurred vision improved and saw Scott and Alan, still in their uniforms and looking as drained of energy as I felt. I tried to sit up, but my head was swimming. I put a hand on my forehead as Alan eased me back down. "Whoa, take it easy."

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked.

"You're still on Thunderbird 3. We're about two days from home," Scott said, sitting down.

"After you switched the beam onto high power, you passed out," Alan said. "It worked, by the way, raising the power. Anyway, as soon as you raised it you passed out, followed by Scott and then myself," Alan said.

"Father started radioing us to see if we we're alright, but Alan had left the cockpit to try and shut down the safety beam and I was still unconscious so the message fell on deaf ears," Scott said, blinking slowly. He was tired, we all were. "Eventually, Alan came round and revived me, but he didn't want to wake you so moved you onto the sofa."

"But, the retros, how...?" I started.

"When the safety beam was left on, we had a serious drain on power," Alan said. "Virgil and Brains were still on Mount Arkan, so, when they were told, they started working on a way to jam our transmitter and therefore shut down the beam. Father told us that they went to the pod to work out the frequency on the mobile computer, but they'd picked up the wrong box. It was Braman who saved our skins!"

"The beam reached us and our retros fired just as Alan regained consciousness," Scott added.

"How are you feeling now, Tin-Tin?" Alan asked, taking my hand and looking at me. "You've been out cold longer than Scott and me put together."

"I still feel kinda dizzy," I admitted.

"You're not the only one," Scott said, holding his head, "anyway, now you're up, you can go up to the next level, to the sleeping."

"But there's only twin bunks. Who's going without this time?"

"I will," Scott answered. "I'll sleep on the couch. The ship is on autopilot and an alarm will sound when we need to take over. I doubt we'll sleep the entire two days, but just in case. Go on, you and Alan can use the bunks, I'll sleep here, but you two'd better behave!"

I laughed at Scott's weak joke. Like Alan or I would! I walked sleepily over to the elevator, leaning on Alan's shoulder, and turned round in time to see Scott literally pass out on the couch.

We got to the next level and entered the sleeping chamber. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

A couple of days later, I was back at home and fully recovered.

I was sat in the lounge listening to Brains, Mr Tracy and Braman in the library.

"Now that the excitement of Thunderbird 3's homecoming is over, Braman, let's see if my improvements on you have worked. It's your move."

I walked over to the door to watch just as Braman picked up a chess piece and moved it.

"Check – mate," he said, in his tinny, mechanical voice.

"I don't believe it! Surely, it can't be true! A machine cannot have a brain better than mine!" Brains exclaimed, shocked.

"It was a fluke, Brains," Mr Tracy reasoned. He was stood between Brains and Braman, behind a small console on the desk. "You've been working kinda lately, you know." As they spoke, Alan and Scott appeared beside to me.

"Yeah, that-that-that must be it," Brains admitted, "I wasn't concentrating. That must be it."

"Anyway, Brains," Mr Tracy continued, "thanks for all you've done."

At this point, Alan pushed open the door to the library. "Yeah, thanks, Brains."

"Thanks, Brains," Scott said.

"Thank you, Brains," I added.

Then, to our amusement, Braman started waving his arms in the air. "Thanks – Brains," it said, the sound echoing slightly inside its copper head.

Brains blushed, then waved a hand, as if he were accepting our thanks.

We all laughed, but then Mrs Tracy came in to announce that lunch was ready.


	14. Contemplations

_This is it, guys. Final chapter. It is open for further chapters following later episodes, so who knows, maybe I'll come back at some point and add to it... who knows?_

_

* * *

_

New Beginnings, First Missions, Old Friends

_By Phoenix Sparrow_

* * *

Chapter 14: CONTEMPLATIONS

Some time later, I guess about two or three weeks, Alan was in his room.

I knocked the door and waited for him to answer.

"Who is it?"

"Tin-Tin. It's time, Alan." The door opened and I saw Alan looking disappointed. "Alan, you know you had to go today," I said, trying to cheer him up, as I walked in.

"Yeah, I know. John probably does this when he has to leave, doesn't he?" he said, sitting down on his bed.

"What? Sulk in his room?" I asked, laughing, taking a seat.

"Hey," he laughed.

'_Mission accomplished.' _I'd cheered him up; but what I didn't anticipate was the pillow being thrown at my head.

We played about, pillow fighting, for a while, letting time get away.

* * *

Alan was due to leave at 3 o' clock that afternoon.

At quarter to, Mr Tracy came knocking on the door to see if he was nearly ready.

I'd been in there with him for over an hour and I was supposed to have been helping him pack. We hadn't even got the suitcase out, let alone any clothes!

His father knocked again. "Alan, are you in there?"

Alan and I glanced at each other, grinning. He ran to his wardrobe and pulled out the things he usually took with him, while I rummaged about under the bed for his case.

Mr Tracy tried to open the door, but Alan had locked it just after we started playing. "Alan? What are you doing?" he called, pushing at the door and knocking again.

Alan was running about his room, grabbing clothes and dumping them on his bed, while I tried my best to neatly arrange them in his case.

"Alan, I know you're in there, let me in," Mr Tracy called, banging on the door, "Alan, come on, you've only got ten minutes! Stop messing around!"

Alan walked over to the door and unlocked it as I finished putting things into the case.

"We've finished packing," I said, cheerily.

"Why did you lock the door?" he asked.

"We, er, didn't want any distractions," Alan said, glancing at me and smiling.

I had to turn around to hide my grin. I covered up my action by pretending to make sure his socks were all neatly arranged and that the case was properly secure. I expect I'm probably more of a distraction to him than all the other members of International Rescue put together, including all the agents!

* * *

It was late evening. Scott had left with Alan and come back with John long ago.

I was sat in the lounge watching Scott and Gordon play chess, when John appeared in the room.

He walked over to a chair, slumped down in it wearily and closed his eyes. Virgil, who had been sat on the piano stool, walked over and started talking to him about something, but I could see John was only pretending to listen.

I suddenly had a strong feeling of déjà vu; John was sat in the exact same position and seat, as Scott had been the night I first arrived on the island.

It was weird, because my life was a lot better that night than it had been that first night.

Gordon wasn't in any way ill or injured.

I had settled in on the island after returning from university.

And, possibly the most important thing, we had shown the world the amazing capabilities of International Rescue and our Thunderbird craft. There were hundreds of people who had placed their lives into our hands; most of whom were with me on the Fireflash all those months ago.

My train of thought was interrupted when John came and sat beside me. "You back up in space?" he asked.

"No," I said, laughing, "I was just thinking."

"Oooh, risky stuff. Shouldn't do that too often!" I glared at him, but was unable to keep myself from smiling. "So, what were you thinking about?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how much has changed since I first moved on to the island and some of the rescue missions."

"Rescue missions, huh? Any in particular?"

"No. What's with the twenty questions?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I'm just nosey. When I'm on that space station, I give out information. What I hear is all I get. I don't always hear as much as you do down here." He paused to take a breath. "I only wanted to know which ones you were thinking about." I looked at him and he pouted. "Please?"

"Oh, alright. If you must know, I was thinking about the Sahara mission."

"The one when Scott was shot down?"

"Yes," I said, looking away. "The one when Scott was shot down." I repeated quietly before looking back. "I was wondering who the Zombites were, because they only seemed..."

"Zombites?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh, according to Scott, that was what the people who fired on him were called. Anyway, they only seemed to target our Thunderbirds."

"I guess it doesn't really matter. From what I heard, the pyramid was destroyed."

"Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just worried. It's surprising just how many enemies we've got. There's that creep who sabotaged Fireflash just so he could photograph Thunderbird 1..."

"Tin-Tin," he interrupted, taking my hand to help calm me down. "Don't worry about it. We're perfectly safe here."

* * *

I was stood in my room thinking about what John had said.

"We're perfectly safe here."

I was so worried I started thinking that no matter what they said it wouldn't help. I sat down on my bed, pulled my legs close in to my chest and tried to read a book, but I was distracted by my thoughts.

I looked at the clock: twenty past nine. Quite early for me.

I heard a knock at the door, which made me jump. I crossed over to open it, only to find Scott stood there. "I heard your conversation with John earlier. Sounds like you need cheering up."

I was a little uneasy, but I invited him in. I sat back down on the bed in the same position I was in before and tried to avoid making eye contact with him. It was Scott that kept reminding me of my fears, due to his recent accident.

"You're worried, aren't you?" he suddenly said. I could hear that he was trying to help, though I'm not sure how making me jump could help. The nervy mood I was in, anything sudden would make me jump.

"I was trying to figure why you were attacked," I said, still looking out the window.

"Tin-Tin, look at me." I turned back and he pointed at his head. "See this?"

I looked hard, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. No bruises, marks or scratches, nothing. "See what?"

"Precisely. When I was forced down, I hit my head. You know that because you came out to help me with Virge and Brains and I'm grateful for the help you gave me." He paused and looked at the floor, grinning. "And the apple pie!"

I smiled as I remembered camping in the desert that night in a tent pitched in the shade of Thunderbird 2's nose. "What's the point to this story?"

"The impact of my head hitting the Horizontal Flight Control levers..."

"Why don't you just say HFCs?"

"Sorry. The impact of my head hitting the HFCs knocked me out and cut my head. The trouble is all over now and the mark on my head has gone. Everything is alright. It's all in the past, just like the mark." I looked at him and he smiled. Not the cheeky smile from earlier, but a smile that said he cared. "Everything is fine here. We're too well concealed and we're all too careful for them to find our base. Remember when you first moved in? You didn't realise until we told you."

"But I noticed changes on the island and in the way you lot acted," I said.

"That's because you'd been here before we started and we all knew you would eventually be told. We have a hard time keeping a secret until it's allowed to be told. If we're not allowed to tell it, we're alright. So, there's no need to worry, unless dad says we're gonna tell the world, but I can't see that happening anytime soon! It's just like John said. 'We're perfectly safe here'."

I leaned forward and hugged him. I was wrong; they could help; they could always make me feel better. I was just worrying myself.

"You alright now, Tin-Tin?" I nodded and he stood up. "Good. I've got stuff to do, so I'm gonna go now. If you ever need to talk to someone, you know where I am. Heck, you know where all are if you want us. Especially Alan. Poor kid'd listen to you no matter what you said. You could talk about ceiling tiles and he'd be interested! Anyway, you can talk anytime." He paused to consider. "Though, you can't talk to us if we're busy, or out on call, and I'd prefer it if you didn't wake me late at night and..."

"OK, OK, I get it," I said, laughing, as I threw a pillow at him.

"Ah, finally," he said, ducking out of the way. "I've been trying to hear that sound all night. I guess my work here is done. See you later, Tin-Tin."

* * *

The next day, I was helping Mrs Tracy in the kitchen. It was about half eleven and we were preparing the next meal.

I heard a noise in the hallway outside and looking round I saw Virgil and Gordon stood at the door. I was about to say good morning, but Gordon held a finger to his lips.

Mrs Tracy had her back to the door and was stirring up a cake mixture for after lunch.

I grinned as they crept into the kitchen. They had their slippers on so they made barely a sound as they went.

"Good morning, boys," Mrs Tracy said, not turning away from the mixing bowl.

"Morning, grandma," Virgil said, his shoulders dropping in defeat as he stopped creeping about. "We've never been able to creep anywhere past you."

"You're just like your father. He used to try to creep past me to look under the lids of the pots, hoping to get a sneak-preview of lunch; similarly to how Gordon is." She still hadn't turned round.

Gordon jumped at the mention of his name and dropped the lid. I grimaced as it hit the floor with a metallic crash.

"I can definitely say you are my grandchildren. Just like your father," she said, laughing. She looked at me, then at their faces. They looked just like two kids who had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"We're sorry. We've, uh, got to go, Virge," Gordon said, looking at his brother with a look in his eyes that said 'I suggest you take my advice'.

"Oh, yeah. Father wanted us to do..."Virgil glanced about uneasily. "Uhm, that thing."

Mrs Tracy and I laughed as they ran out.

* * *

_**A/B**: That's it. All over. Hope you guys enjoyed! Don't forget to drop a line and let me know!_


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